Creating & E-Signing Leases
How to build a lease, send it for electronic signature, and rely on the audit trail under ESIGN and UETA.
Once an applicant is approved, you can create a lease and send it for e-signature without printing or scanning.
Building the lease
Assemble the lease with rent, term, deposit, and your policies, then send it to the tenant to review and sign. Both parties sign electronically, and everyone gets a copy.
Legally binding e-signatures
Under the federal ESIGN Act and UETA, electronic signatures generally carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones when the parties intend to sign and consent to transact electronically. Seayora captures a tamper-evident record and an audit trail of who signed, when, and from where.
Important
Seayora is not a law firm and does not guarantee a document is suitable for your jurisdiction. Have important agreements reviewed by your own attorney, and retain copies as required by law.
Editing a lease after sending
Once a lease is out for signature, it shouldn’t be edited in place — void it and send a corrected version so the audit trail stays clean. After all parties sign, use a formal amendment instead of altering the original.
Multiple signers and co-signers
Leases can require signatures from more than one tenant or a co-signer/guarantor. Each signer gets their own signing link and is recorded separately in the audit trail, so it’s always clear who signed what and when.
Frequently asked questions
Can a lease be signed from a phone?
Yes — e-signing works from any device with a browser, so tenants and landlords can review and sign without needing to be at a computer.
What if a tenant refuses to sign electronically?
You can offer a traditional paper signing process as an alternative, but you cannot force someone to consent to electronic signatures — consent to sign electronically must be voluntary under ESIGN/UETA.
Is a scanned wet-ink signature the same as an e-signature?
Not quite — a scanned signature is just an image, while an e-signature captured through Seayora’s workflow comes with a verified audit trail of who signed, when, and that the document wasn’t altered afterward.
Can I void a lease after sending it, before anyone signs?
Yes — you can void an unsigned lease at any time and send a corrected version, which is the right move any time you spot an error before signatures come in.