An escalation ladder: how much a tenancy's rate goes up, and how often. Agreements that say "rent rises 10 percent every two years" are recorded here once and then reused.
When to use it
Before you set up a tenancy whose agreement carries an escalation clause. One policy serves every tenancy on the same terms.
Before you start
Nothing else has to exist. You attach the policy to a tenancy service line afterwards.
Where to find it
Masters > Rental > Increment Policy.
The fields on this screen
| Field (on screen) | What to enter | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Policy Name | Name of this rent escalation ladder. You choose it by name on a tenancy, so make it say what it does. | No |
| Increment Type | Percentage raises the rent by a share of it. Flat adds a fixed amount instead. | No |
| Increment Rate | How much each rise is: a percentage of the rent, or a fixed amount, depending on the type above. | No |
| Every N Months | Months between one rise and the next. 12 raises the rent yearly; left blank it is treated as 12. | No |
| Compounding | Tick so each rise builds on the already raised rent. Unticked, every rise is a share of the first rent. | No |
| Active | (not explained yet) | No |
How it works
A policy does nothing on its own. You pick it on a service line on the Tenancy screen, and it takes effect when charges are generated for a period.
At that point the service's rate is cut into dated slices, from its Effective From date to its Effective To date. The rate goes up at every step of Every N Months:
- Percentage with Compounding ticked raises the previous slice's rate by the Increment Rate percent, so each rise is larger than the last.
- Percentage with Compounding unticked adds the same percentage of the original rate every time, so every rise is equal.
- Flat amount adds the Increment Rate as a figure at each step. Compounding makes no difference to it.
Each slice keeps its own dates, and a month's bill uses the slice that covers that month. A rise in the middle of an agreement lands on the right bill without anyone editing the tenancy.
Tips and common mistakes
- Every N Months is the gap between rises, not the number of rises. A yearly rise is 12.
- Compounding only matters on a Percentage policy. A Flat amount policy ignores it.
- Changing a policy does not rewrite charges that already exist. Regenerate charges from the billing console. A charge that has already been billed is reported, not re-priced, so its history stays intact.
- Give the policy a name that states the terms, such as "10 percent every 24 months". You will pick it from a list on every tenancy.
Related guides
- Tenancy (where the policy is attached), Service
- Bill Generation (the run that applies it)