The landlord listing guide is available in PDF format here.
For those without Adobe Reader, the text from the guide is presented below:
What is OneStopHousing?
OneStopHousing is a community service that is intended to better connect providers of housing and housing services to renters who are looking for specific types of housing opportunities. The goal is to provide renters, landlords and property managers, and housing agency staff access to up-to-date housing information through user-friendly tools that are customized for each of our user groups.
OneStopHousing is an easy-to-use website that allows you to search for affordable, available rental housing throughout a defined area. It allows you to do a detailed search, such as by area, address, the size of the apartment, and much more. The site is used by renters that are looking for affordable housing that meet their special needs, and is located in a preferred geographic area of the community. The renters can define their special housing needs by using OneStopHousing to perform housing searches and receive listings that match the needs defined. Once a match is presented to the prospective renter, the site assists in establishing a direct channel of communications between the property owner or manager for the purpose of efficiently communicating the rental agreement. The site is centered on the comprehensive listing information provided by the property managers when they list the property.
As a housing information and business center, OneStopHousing is a virtual location where everyone in the housing industry can connect and do business.
Navigating to the Locator
When you arrive at the OneStopHousing.org home page click on the “List Your Unit” button in the top right of the screen.
Creating a Landlord Account
Once at the locator page, click on the blue text that says “Register” in the top right corner of the screen.
This will take you to the registration page. Select “Landlord” from the “Registration Type” drop down menu and fill out the fields marked with the *
(An important note – the information you enter here for “Landlord Contact Information” WILL not be shown to potential renters when they view your listings)
Once you complete the forms on this page, click the “Save” button in the bottom right of the page to create your account. A pop-up will tell you that you have successfully created your account. Click the “OK” button to be taken back to the registration page.
Once back at the registration, scroll up to the top of the page and click the “Sign In” text in the top right corner. Enter your username/password and click the “Sign In” button to be logged into your new account!
Managing Your Listings
Once you have signed in to your account you will see a few more tabs on the top of your screen. Click on “Landlord Properties” to view all of your current properties and add more property listings!
Adding a New Property
Click on the “Add New” button (as shown above) to be taken to the property creation page.
Fill out as much information as possible about your property. When you are done, click on the “save” button in the bottom right of the page.
A few notes:
1. this page is for property creation, not unit information – there are separate creation pages for units and properties!)
2. If your property is a house, feel free to set “Unit Size” on this creation page. However, if your property is a duplex, apartment complex, etc, leave the “Unit Size” field unaltered. You will be better off to set unit sizes later in the listing process.
3. While it is not required on this page at the launch time, it is essential that the “Contact Information” section is filled out (with at least a phone number). Later you can set different contact information for each unit, but it is much more practical to have one point of contact for an entire property. Enter that information here for rental seekers can contact you/your property manager!
Adding a New Unit
After you have created a property you’ve got to add a unit style to that property before it will appear in search results! To add a unit to a property, click the blue arrow to the left of the property. Click on the “View Units” option on the drop-down menu to be taken to the Unit View Page.
Once here click on the “Add New” button on the right side of the page. This will take you to the unit creation page.
Unit Creation
Fill out the unit creation page with as much information as possible. The pieces of information with the * next to it means it’s required, but it’s a good idea to fill out as much as you can. It’s important to note that setting “Currently Visible in Searches” to “Yes” is essential to making sure rental seekers can find your listing when they perform searches. If you’d like to create the unit information for display in searches later, you can set the option to “No.” It’s also important to know that when rental seekers see your listing in their searches they are given both the property contact information and unit contact information. If there are different property managers/points of contact for different units in a complex be sure to fill out the unit contact information and any special contact instructions in the “General Information” section of the first unit creation page. When this page is filled out, click on the “Next” button at the bottom right of the page.
Clicking on the “Next” button will take you to page two the unit creation. On page two the rent can be set as well as information about programs you will consider, application fees, pet policy, and additional information. Please fill out this information as thoroughly as possible as it will increase the likelihood of rental seekers finding your listing when they perform their searches!
On this page, it’s important to pay attention to rental terms – this is meant to be set to your preference of rental terms (month-to-month, six months, or one year). Also, at the bottom of the page please remember to set the appropriate availability of the unit you are listing. If you have multiple units that match the description of the unit style you’ve just created, please mention that in the “Additional Information” text box at the bottom of page two. When this page is completed click on the “Finish” button at the bottom right side of the page.
Now your property/unit will show up as a listing in search results!
To edit property information, navigate back to the “Landlord Properties” tab at the top of the page and click on the blue arrow to the left the property you wish to edit. From the drop-down menu select “Edit Property” and you will be able to edit the property information. To remove your unit from listing, or edit other unit information, such as rent and availability, navigate to the Unit Information page by clicking on the “View Units” from the drop-down menu to the left of the property. Once inside the Unit Overview page, click on the blue arrow next to the unit you wish to edit and click “Edit Unit.”
Adding Images
If you’d like to add photos to your listing you can do so from the “Unit Images” page. Once there (Landlord Properties Click on “View Units” from the drop-down arrow to left of the property Click on the “Unit Images” from the drop-down arrow to the left of the unit) click on the “Add New” button in the top right of the page.
On the “Add Photos” page you will be asked to browse to the image you wish to upload from your computer. Click on the “Browse” button and locate the picture on your harddrive and click the “Open” button.
Once you’ve done that, give your image a title and description and click “Save” on the right side of the page. Now rental seekers will be able to see your photos when browsing your listing!
Final Tips
A few final tips landlords listing on OneStopHousing.org:
1. Update your listing at least once every two weeks. (Rental seekers can see when your listing was last updated and often use this date to determine a listings “freshness.” Additionally, after two weeks without an update, listings will be hidden from searches. This is done to make sure rental seekers are only viewing current listings!)
2. You can edit your account information by clicking on the “Portal Account Settings” button at the top of the page.