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What to Do When a Rent Request Is Rejected

Who this is for: Welile agents and sub-agents whose Rent Request was declined.

What you will get from it: the named problem fixed and the request back under review, with nothing re-entered that did not need to be.

A rejected request is not lost and it is not deleted. Every rejection carries a written reason, and you can correct that one thing and send it back.

Before you start​

  • You know which request was rejected.
  • You can reach the tenant or the landlord, if the reason involves either of them.
  • You have whatever the note asks for — a better photo, a corrected figure, the landlord's real details.

How to fix and resubmit​

  1. Open your rejected submissions. Tenants tab, your submissions, then the rejected group.
  2. Tap the request and read the reason. A reviewer has to write a specific explanation, so it names the actual problem rather than saying "declined".
  3. Choose to edit and resubmit. Correct only what the note named — the phone number, the rent amount, the photo, the landlord's details, the location.
  4. Write your corrective note. Say in one line what you changed and why, for example: "Landlord's number corrected; he will answer between 2pm and 4pm." The reviewer reads this next.
  5. Submit the resubmission. The request returns for review and your earlier details are kept.
  6. Check it moved. It should leave the rejected group. Follow it in your submissions.
Resubmitting an unchanged request gets the same answer

The reviewer reads the note before anything else. If nothing named in it has actually changed, the request is declined again, and repeated empty resubmissions get an account looked at.

Resubmitting also does not promise approval, faster handling or a place at the front of the queue.

The reason says the tenant could not be reached​

The tenant's phone was off, engaged or out of coverage when Welile called.

  1. Visit or WhatsApp the tenant the same day.
  2. Check the number on the request is the line they actually use, and correct it if not.
  3. Ask them to keep that phone on and charged, and agree a window when they will answer.
  4. Resubmit with a note saying the tenant is now reachable and expecting the call.

The reason says the landlord could not be reached​

The same problem at the other end, and just as common. Landlords do not answer unknown numbers.

  1. Call the landlord yourself and explain that Welile needs to confirm the rent before it can be paid.
  2. Agree a specific time window and put it in your note.
  3. Check the number is the landlord's own, not a caretaker's or a relative's, unless a caretaker is properly recorded.
  4. Resubmit.

The reason says the photo was unclear or did not pass​

The photo was blurred, dark, obstructed, or taken of a screen or a document rather than the person.

  1. Meet the tenant in daylight, outdoors or in a doorway.
  2. Ask them to remove a cap, sunglasses or mask.
  3. Retake the photo until the check passes — see taking a tenant photo and when the photo check fails.
  4. Resubmit.

The reason says the rent amount does not match​

The landlord told Welile a different figure from the one you entered.

  1. Speak to the landlord and the tenant together and establish the rent actually being charged.
  2. Enter the corrected monthly rent. The plan's fees and repayment figures are recalculated from the corrected amount, so read the new schedule out to the tenant and confirm they can manage it.
  3. Resubmit.

Do not split the difference or enter the figure you would prefer. The landlord is telephoned again.

The reason says the landlord could not confirm the tenancy​

The landlord said they do not know the applicant, or that the tenancy has ended.

  1. Check whether the tenant has moved to a different unit on the same property, and clarify the room or unit number.
  2. Check whether the property has changed hands. If there is a new owner or new management, the landlord details on the request must be the current ones.
  3. If the landlord genuinely does not know the tenant, stop. Do not resubmit with a different landlord to get it through — find out what is actually going on first.

The reason says a caretaker was submitted without the landlord​

A caretaker's contact was given where the legal property owner's details are required.

  1. Get the legal owner's full name and phone number.
  2. Enter the owner under the landlord details, and record the caretaker in the caretaker section instead of in place of the owner.
  3. Resubmit for the landlord check.

The reason says the property location is wrong​

The location recorded on the request does not sit with the village and address given.

  1. Go back to the rental house.
  2. Stand at the doorstep and re-pin the location.
  3. Let the accuracy settle before you confirm, and check the pin is on the house rather than on the road or the next plot.
  4. Resubmit.

Pin it properly now: the same location record is checked again when you pay the landlord. See pay a landlord.

The reason says the LC1 documentation is unclear or missing​

The LC1 Chairperson letter was blurred, unsealed, incomplete or absent.

  1. Photograph the letter flat, in good light, with the village stamp and the chairperson's phone number readable.
  2. Check the chairperson recorded on the request is the one for that village.
  3. Upload the new photograph and resubmit.

If the reason is not clear to you​

Ask before guessing. Your parent agent or service centre manager has usually seen the same note before and can tell you what the reviewer wants in a sentence.

If neither can help, contact support with the tenant's name, the date you submitted and the exact wording of the note. Guessing wastes a resubmission and another trip to the property.

How to have fewer rejections​

Most rejections come from four avoidable things:

  1. Phones. Warn both the tenant and the landlord that a call is coming, every time.
  2. Photos. Take them in daylight and look at the result before you move on.
  3. The rent figure. Confirm it with the landlord, not only with the tenant.
  4. The location. Pin it at the doorstep, not from the boda on the way out.

Still need help?​

Contact Welile Support on WhatsApp, call +256 777 607640, or email info@welile.com.

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