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Tenant communication in CIRO: WhatsApp, email and SMS in one inboxTenant communication in CIRO: WhatsApp, email and SMS in one inbox

Tenant communication via WhatsApp, SMS and email

Your tenants' messages arrive via WhatsApp, SMS, email or the tenant portal and land in the same inbox in CIRO. What cannot wait until tomorrow sits at the top. If someone writes to you in Turkish or Arabic, you read the message in English.

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All your tenants' requests with their history
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Tickets
All your tenants' requests with their history
Important tickets
1
Active tickets
3

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The inbox in CIRO

Messages from WhatsApp, email and SMS sit in one list, the urgent ones on top. Your reply goes back the way the message came.

Every message is filed with the tenant and their unit

Whatever a tenant writes to you, CIRO files it with them and their unit, with date and time, whichever channel it came through. That matters in a dispute: if a tenant reduces the rent over a defect, it often turns on when they reported it (section 536c of the German Civil Code), and that is exactly what the history shows, together with your reply. From Smart, CIRO suggests a reply to every message, which you adjust and send yourself.Updated: 10/27/2026

Your reply goes back the way the message came

Your tenants write to your CIRO number, your CIRO address or through the tenant portal. CIRO files every message with the right tenant and unit, recognising them by the number or address you stored.

You write your reply in the same place, and it goes back the way the message came. No tenant ever sees your private phone number. Email is included in every plan, WhatsApp and SMS from Smart.

Four levels from low to urgent

With 14 open messages you want to know which one cannot wait. CIRO puts every request on one of four levels. The water damage sits at the very top, the squeaky door at the bottom, and you read the rest when you have time.

If you turned on emails about requests, every urgent request stays in them until it is resolved.

Translation in 40 languages

At 10 p.m. Ms Demir writes in Turkish that water is dripping from the bathroom ceiling. CIRO detects the language and shows you the message in English. You reply in English, and Ms Demir receives your answer in Turkish.

This works for 40 languages, from Arabic to Polish and Ukrainian. You can show the original text at any time if you want the exact wording. Translation is available from Smart.

Which notice needs which form?

Whether an email is enough depends on what you are telling your tenant. It is not enough for a termination, but it is for a rent increase.

Contents

Written form, text form, no form: what is the difference?

German tenancy law knows three levels for declarations between you and your tenant. Written form (Schriftform) means a paper document you sign by hand (§ 126 BGB). Only the electronic form with a qualified electronic signature can replace it (§ 126a BGB), a plain email cannot. Text form (Textform) only requires a readable declaration on a durable medium that shows who makes it (§ 126b BGB). An email meets that, and so does an unsigned letter. No form means a phone call or a short message is enough.

A declaration only takes effect once it reaches the recipient (§ 130 BGB). If a deadline depends on it, you must be able to prove in a dispute that it arrived and when. A sent log shows that you sent something, but not reliably that it arrived. For declarations with a deadline, a registered letter with proof of delivery or a messenger is the safer route.

Which form applies to which notice?

Of the common notices in a tenancy, termination is the only one where an email is not enough. For everything else in this overview text form is enough, and for your tenant's defect report even a phone call.

NoticeFormProvisionIs an email enough?
Termination of a residential tenancyWritten form: a letter signed by hand§ 568 (1) BGBNo. Fax, WhatsApp and SMS are not enough either.
Rent increase up to the local comparative rentText form, with reasons, for example a rent index or three comparable flats§ 558a (1) BGBYes
Notice of modernisation workText form, at least three months before the work starts§ 555c (1) BGBYes
Adjusting the service charge prepayment after a statementText form§ 560 (4) BGBYes
Your tenant reporting a defectNo form, but without undue delay§ 536c (1) BGBYes, a call or a message works too

You can check the permitted amount of a rent increase with the rent increase calculator, and the new prepayment after a statement with the prepayment calculator.

What does this mean for messages sent through CIRO?

For everyday matters the inbox is enough: damage reports, appointments with tradespeople, questions about the statement. CIRO files every message with its channel, date and time under the tenant and their unit. If a tenant reports a defect via WhatsApp, the history later shows when they reported it and what you replied. If they call, you add the call to the request as a note.

For declarations in text form, email is your best choice. Whether a WhatsApp message or a message in the portal meets the text form has not been settled conclusively. Send a termination as a signed letter and file a copy as a document with the tenancy, so it sits next to the rest of the correspondence.

Updated: 10/27/2026

Frequently asked questions

Emails, SMS and WhatsApp messages from your tenants arrive in the same inbox in CIRO, and you reply from there, whichever channel the message came in on. Email is included in every plan; SMS and WhatsApp are available on Smart and up. You log phone calls and letters as notes so the history for each tenant is complete.

CIRO detects the language of an incoming message and translates it into your language. 40 languages are supported. You can show the original text whenever you want to see your tenant's exact wording. CIRO translates your reply back into your tenant's language.

Most of the time they fit. Check promises and dates in particular before you send a reply; nothing is sent until you click "Send" yourself. Suggestions draw on your tenant's message, the conversation so far and the urgency and mood CIRO has detected in it. You get three replies in different tones, from friendly to brief, always polite and formal, and each appears as a draft you can edit.

CIRO archives all messages with timestamp and channel for as long as your CIRO account is active. You can open the conversation history for each tenant at any time. If there's a dispute later about a promise or a reported defect, you can see what was written and when.

Yes, the inbox for your tenants' emails is part of every plan. SMS, WhatsApp, reply suggestions and automatic translation are available on Smart and up. Your 60-day free trial runs on Smart, so you see them from day one. Afterwards you decide whether to stay on Smart (€30 / month), move to Basic (€15) or go up to Pro (€70). Every plan can be canceled monthly.

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Use CIRO Smart free for 60 days. After that, your account becomes read-only until you choose a plan.

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