Electronic lease signing is recognised for most residential tenancies and the question worth asking is not whether it is valid but what makes a particular signature defensible. Three things do, and all of them are about the record around the signature rather than the signature itself. This page is those three, for a landlord about to stop printing leases.
Consent to do business electronically
Federal law recognises electronic signatures and records, with the parties' agreement to use them as part of the framework. In practice that means capturing the tenant's agreement to sign and receive documents electronically, which most signing services do as a first step. It is a small thing and it is the foundation the rest rests on.
The audit trail is the evidence
Who signed, when, from what address, after viewing which document, with what verification. That trail is what distinguishes a signature you can stand behind from an image pasted into a PDF. When choosing a service, the completeness and exportability of the trail matters more than the signing experience, because the trail is the part you may need years later.
Deliver a copy they can keep
The tenant should end up with the executed document and be able to open it without an account on anyone's platform. A lease that exists only inside a service the tenant cannot access is a lease they effectively do not have, and the request for a copy will arrive at the least convenient moment. Send the file as well as the link.
When to print anyway
Where a state requires a wet signature for a specific document attached to the lease, where a party genuinely cannot sign electronically, and where you already suspect the tenancy will end in a formal dispute. That last one is judgement rather than law, and it costs little to follow. Otherwise electronic signing removes a step that produced most of the version confusion in a small portfolio.
Questions people ask about electronic lease signing
Are electronically signed leases enforceable?
Generally yes for residential tenancies, under the federal framework and state equivalents. The practical question is the quality of the record around the signature.
Does the tenant need their own account?
They should not need one to keep the document. Sending the executed file directly is what makes it theirs.
What about the addenda and disclosures?
Include them in the same signing package so the signature covers the whole set. Signing the lease and emailing the disclosures separately loses the link between them.