A leasing professional is someone who works to recruit and retain tenants for rental properties and to execute the processes needed for tenants to move into properties. Duties can vary based on the specific situation, but common responsibilities include maintaining a list of available properties and those about to become available, ensuring that newly vacated spaces are prepared for new tenants, discussing options with prospective renters and offering tours of the property or properties. Such professionals may work, or even live, on site at a residential or commercial complex, or they may travel between complexes or individual properties as needed.
The main duty of a leasing professional is to facilitate rental transactions between the property owner and the tenant. In most cases, the term is used to refer to an individual who works for an apartment or condominium development. These specialists are responsible for knowing all the benefits of the complex and being able to articulate them clearly to a potential renter. They must be able to present pricing, terms, conditions and regulations in a clear way, and may also present and negotiate pricing and terms with tenants interested in renewing a lease.
Similar duties fall to a leasing professional who specializes in complex-style commercial properties. Such professionals might work at a mall, shopping center, office building or industrial park. In this case, they will be working with small business or corporate tenants rather than individuals looking for a residence, and the contract negotiations may be somewhat more complex.
In some cases, the term "leasing professional" might be applied to a real estate agent specializing in rental properties. These types of agents can work with either residential or commercial properties, or both. They often have additional duties in terms of listing available properties with real estate services as well.
Most of the time, a leasing professional will also be responsible for qualifying prospective tenants and completing necessary paperwork. This often means verifying identification and income sources, and might include checking references and processing monetary deposits. This applies to those who are real estate agents and those who are not, and is nearly universal across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
The position might alternatively be called a leasing consultant or leasing specialist. In rare cases, someone completely outside the real estate sector can be referred to as a leasing professional. The most common examples are those responsible for processing lease agreements for items such as office equipment, business or residential furniture, and automobiles and other motorized vehicles.