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    The Art Of Tenant Retention: What Property Managers Don’t Tell You

    Rose RuckBy 5 Mins Read

    As a landlord, you dream of having quality tenants at all times. A quality tenant is one without a criminal history or a suspicious eviction record. In terms of finances, a quality tenant has a stable income, a clean credit record, and a healthy financial history. Such tenants guarantee their landlord a steady income flow and peace of mind. But how easy is it to find and keep tenants of this caliber? No- it’s an uphill task. That’s why if you ever land a quality tenant, you must spare no effort to retain them. Read on to learn the art of tenant retention.

    Strategies And Practices For Retaining Long-Term Tenants In Rental Properties

    If you ask successful landlords what their secret to tenant retention is, they’ll most likely say that everything starts and ends with “finding the best tenants”. They’d not be lying. You must be thorough when screening potential tenants with regard to background, credit history, proof of stable income, and rental history. Don’t even feel shy to call past landlords and countercheck a potential tenant’s record. However, while all that is important, none of it is the secret to customer retention. Here are the key secrets you must know: 

    • Positive landlord-tenant relationships

    The key to making a tenant remain in your rental property is treating them right and making them feel at home. Some of the ways of achieving this include:

    • Have a comprehensive rental lease and honor it at all times. If there’s a disagreement either between you and a tenant or between two tenants, always refer back to the rental lease. This stops you from getting emotional and letting your biases or generalizations blur your judgment.  
    • Understand that as much as the property is yours, it’s also someone else’s home. Always keep your distance to allow them enough space and freedom to enjoy their home. 
    • Learn important interpersonal skills such as effective communication, patience, trust, empathy, genuine interest in other people, humor, open-mindedness, etc. These skills will come in handy when interacting with tenants.
    • As much as you can, try creating a brotherhood or friendship bond with tenants through acts of kindness. Oftentimes tenants live away from their actual families, which means most would love to create a family away from family. You can cultivate a strong brotherhood bond with your tenants by inviting them to your parties and honoring invites to theirs. Giving your tenant a little gift hamper on Christmas or celebrating important days with them (e.g. Christmas) would also be a huge plus.
    • Be transparent and honest in order to build trust. If, for example, a tenant needs you to fix a faulty appliance in their apartment, don’t play cat and mouse with them. Give them straight answers and honor your word.

    • Hire the right property manager

    Professional property managers are experts in attracting and retaining profitable tenants. However, all property managers aren’t equal. Some are more effective than others with regard to customer retention. When hiring a manager for your rental property, choose the one that:

    • Is easily accessible to both you and your tenants, 24/7/365. The manager should inspire confidence in the tenants that assistance is always available whenever they need it. 
    • Has a reputation for timely property maintenance and renovation.
    • Has a track record of effective marketing and advertising strategies. This assures you of optimal occupancy in your rental property.
    • Has a reputation for fast response time to tenants’ requests or prospect queries.

    • Incentivize tenants to renew their leases

    What do you do when a quality tenant asks to vacate at the end of their current rental lease? Well, unless a tenant wants to relocate to another city, maybe for job-related reasons, you have a fair chance of influencing their next step. Talk to them and put your best foot forward. For example, you can offer to upgrade the property’s amenities and features to more luxurious standards. You can add a gym, a swimming pool, a patio/deck, or even extend the home to make it more functional. You can also incentivize them with a substantial discount on the renewal month’s rent. 

    Note: If you must raise rent at every lease renewal, at least be fair, consistent, and reasonable. Don’t make any tenant feel like you’re greedy.

    • Make good use of technology

    To ensure fast communication with tenants, provide them with a clear communication system. You can, for example, provide them with:

    • An email address for sending major repair requests. Encourage them to copy their emails to you (the property owner) and your property manager. 
    • A phone number for calling ONLY when there are emergencies. 
    • A WhatsApp group for routine announcements.
    • An SMS line for non-urgent communication.
    • A tenant portal where they can share/update personal information, renew leases, and share feedback. 
    • A maintenance tracking tool where tenants can submit their maintenance requests. The manager can then update the tenant through the tool on the status of the request. 
    • A safe and convenient online payment system.

    Final word

    You have to be good to your tenants and offer them top-of-the-line services if you’re to convince them to live in your apartment for a long time. You have the tips for doing exactly that. The ball is now in your court- get to work!

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