Properties

Linking residents to a property

How the primary-resident / co-resident model works, when to use each, and the right way to handle households, rentals, and absentee owners.

Last updated September 25, 2026

A claimed property has at least one resident attached to it. Many have more - spouses, family members, sometimes tenants. This article covers how the primary / co-resident model works and the situations admins ask about most.

The model

A property has:

  • One primary resident - the main contact, the default recipient of notifications, the “owner of record” in the portal sense
  • Zero or more co-residents - additional household members who see the same property, ledger, and bookings

There’s only one balance per property. Co-residents see the same balance and can pay against it. There’s no “split this dues bill” - whoever pays, pays.

The common cases:

  • Married couple - both adults in the household. One is primary, the other is a co-resident. Both get notifications. Either can pay.
  • Adult children living at home - sometimes co-residents, sometimes not. Up to the family.
  • Owner + tenant - the owner is primary (they own the property and the dues), the tenant is a co-resident if you want them to see notices and book amenities.
  • Multiple owners on the deed - both are primary-eligible, but pick one for the primary slot. The other is a co-resident.

When not to link:

  • Absentee owner with no tenant - just the owner as primary, no co-residents. They’ll get notices to whatever email they signed up with. If they’ll never sign up at all, put them on file instead - see Residents and contacts on a property.
  • Someone who will never use the app - don’t create an account for them. Add them as a contact on file with a phone number. Letters still reach the property; you keep a name and number.
  • Someone who moved out - unlink them. Don’t leave ex-residents tied to properties they no longer live at.
  • Service providers (gardener, contractor) - they shouldn’t have portal access at all.

Adding a primary resident

This usually happens automatically:

  • When a new resident signs up with the join code and picks an unclaimed property, they claim it and become the primary
  • When someone taps the invite link you sent them and the home is unclaimed, they become the primary

To set or change the primary yourself, either:

  • From the property: open it in Properties, click Modify, and in the Household section use or link an existing account to pick a community member. On an unclaimed home they become the primary; on a claimed one they join as a co-resident. Make primary on a co-resident promotes them, and the previous primary becomes a co-resident automatically.
  • From the member: open them in Members, and in the Property Link card search for the address. If the home already has a resident, you choose Add as additional resident or Move out current resident. The second one moves the current primary out of the community, which also unlinks the home’s co-residents.

Adding someone who has no account yet

On day one nobody has signed up, so there is no account to link. Open the property, click Modify, and use Add resident in the Household section: a name is all that is required, with an optional email, phone, role, and billing-contact flag.

That creates a roster record on the property, not an account. If the email or phone you type already belongs to an account in this community, HomeHerald links that account to the home instead - so you never end up with the same person twice. And if they sign up later with that email or phone, they join this home automatically and the record connects to their new account.

See Residents and contacts on a property for the full picture.

Adding a co-resident

Three ways:

Way 1 - admin adds them

  1. Open the property and click Modify
  2. In the Household section, click Add resident and enter their name with an email or phone (or use or link an existing account if they already have one)
  3. When they sign up and pick this home, they join the household as a co-resident with no approval step

Way 2 - a resident invites them

Residents can invite household members from their own My Home page (Invite a household member, by email). The admin doesn’t have to be involved. If your HOA has restricted member invitations, the button shows as disabled.

This is usually the better path - residents know who lives in their household better than you do.

Way 3 - they ask

Someone who signs up and picks a home that’s already claimed can tap I live here too. The current resident gets the request, and once they approve it the new person is linked as a co-resident.

Removing a resident from a property

When someone moves out, leaves the household, gets divorced, etc.:

  1. Open the property and click Modify
  2. In the Household section, click Remove next to a co-resident, or Move out next to the primary
  3. Confirm

That unlinks them from the home. Their account stays active in the community with no property, which is right if they’re moving to another unit soon. To end their access to the community, open them in Members and use Move Out User (or Ban from Community for misconduct) - see Removing or banning a user. Admins can’t delete someone’s account; only the person can, from their own profile.

If you’re removing the primary resident and there are co-residents, HomeHerald asks you to promote one of the co-residents to primary first.

Special case - owner-occupied vs. rented

HomeHerald doesn’t formally distinguish between owners and tenants. Everyone is a “resident” attached to a property. But there are some patterns admins use:

Pattern A: Owner is primary, tenant is co-resident

Best when the owner lives nearby and wants to stay involved (sees notices, pays dues directly). The tenant gets portal access for amenity bookings and request submission, and sees the same property ledger the owner does.

Pattern B: Tenant is primary, owner is a billing contact

Best for most rentals. The tenant claims the home and gets the full portal - amenities, requests, announcements. The owner goes on file as an Owner contact with the billing contact flag set, so every dues notice goes to them instead of the tenant. The owner doesn’t need a HomeHerald account for this to work - an email on the contact is enough.

See Residents and contacts on a property for the full picture.

The downside: if the tenant moves out, you have to remember the property has no resident until the next tenant claims it. The owner contact stays on file through the turnover.

Pattern C: Owner is primary, tenant has no access

Best when the owner doesn’t want the tenant involved at all. Tenant doesn’t show up in HomeHerald - the property looks owner-occupied to the system. The owner manages everything.

Which to pick?

Most communities don’t have a hard rule and let the owner decide on a per-property basis. If you want consistency, document the convention in your bylaws or onboarding email.

Pre-approved emails on a property

Every email or phone on a person under Residents & contacts pre-approves that person for the home. See Inviting residents for the broader flow.

These are per property, not community-wide. So if Lot 14 has john@example.com and jane@example.com on file, those two people can join Lot 14’s household when they sign up, without waiting for the current resident to approve them. Anyone else picking an already-claimed Lot 14 has to send an I live here too request instead. Each email or phone is used up once its person joins.

Common gotchas

“There’s already a primary resident, but the wrong person.” Use Make primary on the right person. The previous primary becomes a co-resident automatically. If you also want them gone, remove them as a co-resident in a separate step.

“A resident is showing up on two properties.” Usually someone moved between units and the old home’s household still lists them. Open the old property, click Modify, and Remove them from the Household section. Their member record’s Property Link card shows the home they’re linked to now.

“The primary moved out but their spouse is still here. What do I do?” Open Modify on the property, click Make primary on the spouse, then Remove the original primary. The balance stays on the property - neither person owns the balance, the property does.

“A resident is asking why their roommate can see the dues balance.” Because they’re both linked to the property. If that’s not appropriate (e.g., the roommate isn’t on the deed and shouldn’t see financial info), unlink the roommate as a co-resident - they lose visibility but can still be invited back later if needed.

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