People, units, invitations and permissions
Our Stairwell separates durable unit records from people, memberships and sign-in access. That makes it possible to keep the history of a flat while owners/leaseholders, tenants/renters and committee officers change.
Units
Use Units for the property record. Depending on the association type, it can hold:
- the unit number and tenure or title type;
- apportionment share or another charging basis;
- property relationships;
- parking and storage rights;
- area notes, restrictions and consent notes;
- linked people; and
- unit documents.
Use People to change who is connected to a unit. Do not overwrite the unit to represent a new owner or occupier.
Members and invitations
Before inviting someone, check the unit and whether that person is already listed. Decide which property relationship applies and whether a separate committee appointment needs recording.
In People > Members, choose a unit and invite the person. Select Owner / leaseholder for the person who holds the freehold, commonhold interest or long lease. Select Tenant / renter only for an occupational tenant under a tenancy or rental agreement. The invitation connects the identity to that unit and the access associated with the property relationship.
A person can be linked to more than one unit. Their property relationship is stored separately for each unit, while a committee office such as Chair is an association-level role. Do not use a committee role to replace the property relationship.
You can review a pending invitation, resend it, copy its code or link, download an invitation letter, or revoke it. Share invitation codes privately. If an invitee has not joined, check that they are using the newest invitation and the invited email address.
Moves and departures
Use Move member when one property link moves to another unit. Use the removal flow when that unit link should end. Former-member history helps explain who had access and when. Anonymisation or deletion is a separate action intended for an authorised administrator after retention needs have been considered.
Avoid deleting or recreating people just to correct a role. Edit the membership or committee role instead.
Committee roles
Property relationships are Owner / leaseholder and Tenant / renter. Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Committee Member are separate association roles. Each supplies a starting set of permissions. Committee roles should reflect the association's real appointments rather than being used as a shortcut to unlock features.
Role and individual permissions
In People > Permissions, authorised users can:
- review which actions each role can perform;
- change unlocked role permissions; and
- set an individual action to follow the role, always allow, or always block.
Use individual overrides sparingly and record why they are needed. A role change is easier to understand and hand over than many unexplained exceptions. Locked permissions protect important access boundaries and cannot be changed from the matrix.
If someone cannot perform an action, check their current membership and role first, then any individual override for that action. Confirm the specific permission needed before changing access. Ask them to reopen the affected page after the change.
Finance access
Finance is deliberately split:
- own unit ledger shows an owner/leaseholder the charges, receipts and credits for each unit they own or lease;
- full finance includes association bank rows, other property balances, bills, funds and reports;
- record transactions permits finance changes; and
- issue demands permits property payment requests.
Property charges are attached to the unit account and notified to its active owners/leaseholders. An occupational tenant/renter is not made liable or sent the charge merely because they live in the flat.
Someone who can see their own ledger should not automatically see the whole association's finances.
External contacts
Use People > Contacts for contractors, suppliers, managing agents, emergency contacts and other non-resident people. Contact records can collect trading details, insurance evidence, compliance documents, quotes, linked works and bills, so future committee members can understand the relationship.