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Habitia Help

Sending an application invite to a specific person

If you have a specific person in mind for a unit — a referral, someone you met at an open house, someone you screened informally — you can send them a direct application link instead of asking them to find the listing on their own. The link drops them straight into the application form for that specific unit.

When to use this vs. publishing the listing

  • Public listing — for tenants you don’t know yet who’ll find you via search or social media. Anyone can apply.
  • Application invite — for someone specific. They get a personalized link; you don’t have to make the unit publicly visible.

You can use both together: list the unit publicly and send invites to people you’ve already pre-qualified.

1. Open the unit

From the left sidebar, click Units, then open the unit you want them to apply to. Or open a single-family property’s detail page.

Note: The Invite to apply button only appears when the unit doesn’t already have an active lease.

2. Click Invite to apply

The Invite to apply button sits in the unit’s header. Clicking it opens a small form.

Screenshot: Invite to apply modal with email, name, and notes fields

3. Fill in the invite

  • Email (required) — where the invitation gets sent.
  • Name (optional) — how to address them. If left blank, the email greets them by their email handle.
  • Notes (optional, internal only) — anything you want to remember about why you invited them. The recipient never sees these.

Click Send invitation.

4. What the recipient gets

Habitia emails them a one-tap link. Clicking it takes them to app.thehabitia.app/portal/apply/<unit-id> with the invite token attached. They:

  1. See the unit’s details (photos, rent, address).
  2. Get prompted to register if they don’t already have a Habitia account.
  3. Fill out the application form — same form a public-listing applicant fills.
  4. Submit. The application lands in your Applications queue.

5. If the email fails

After sending, the modal shows a confirmation. If Habitia couldn’t deliver the email (the recipient’s inbox bounced, for example), it tells you and shows the raw URL with a Copy button. Send the link manually via WhatsApp or SMS.

Tip: The link expires after a set window (the modal shows the date). Send the invite when you’re ready for them to apply — don’t send it weeks ahead of time.

  • It can’t bypass screening. The applicant still fills out the full application — Habitia doesn’t pre-fill or skip any field based on the invite.
  • It can’t be reused by someone else. The invite token is tied to the email address you sent it to.
  • It can’t be used after you accept another application for the unit. Once the unit is leased, the link returns a “unit unavailable” message.

What’s next

  • Reviewing and approving applications — what to do when the application comes in.
  • Publishing a unit on the public listings site — for broader reach.