Finding great tenants can be a mixture of luck, marketing and detailed tenant screening. But when you have the type of renters that pay the rent promptly and take care of your rental home then its best to do your best to retain them.
Renters who reasonably maintain your property by abiding by your policies are a treasure. Ensure that you do your best to keep them with you for as long as you can.
We at Rent Easy have produced this article to hopefully provide useful tips for landlords so they can hold on to great tenants and encourage them to stay for the long-term.
Valuable Tips on Making Renters Happy
Happy renters usually stay longer in your rental home. So as a landlord, you should study ways to encourage your tenants to renew their leases.
Landlords should create incentives that inspire them to stick with your rental home. It doesn’t necessarily mean using expensive methods.
Here are some ideas to try to keep tenants renting longer:
Respond Quickly
When your tenant contacts you for a maintenance request, you shouldn’t stress, it’s an opportunity to prove that they made the right decision by signing a lease with you.
Address their concerns right away. In fact, it’s much better to show initiative and perform regular property inspections. This leads to spotting property issues right away and fixing them before the renter approaches you.
Another idea to create a good impression is scheduling a professional cleaning every 6 months or annually. This delights renters, especially long-term ones as it can make the property more attractive and liveable.
Improve as a Landlord
No matter how long you’ve been managing your rental home, you can still improve yourself as a landlord. You should continually develop your communication skills and look to become more flexible.
As a property owner, you will have many interactions with your renters. So, it’s important to learn people skills. Listen, practice tact and cultivate an open communication.
Renters are more likely to cooperate when they respect their landlord and feel heard. They’re also much more willing to renew the lease and pay the rent on time. So, it’s a good idea to try and be available when tenants need to reach out.
If you need to conduct renovations around your rental home, try to schedule it when the renters are not around to preserve their quiet enjoyment.
Add Popular Amenities
Different people enjoy different amenities. For workers who own private vehicles and need to commute for work, they’d love a secure parking area. Whereas students who have plenty of research papers to write would need high-speed internet and a private quiet place to study.
The right amenities create an enjoyable rental experience and a deciding factor when deciding to continue renting on your property. The more they feel at home, the more unlikely they’ll move out.
Some of the best amenities that prospects really search for when looking at rental property are updated kitchens and bathrooms, extra storage spaces, energy-efficient appliances and more security features in the home.
The better the upgrades you present, the more likely your rental will be attractive to existing tenants and new ones.
An equally popular amenities is being able to rent to owners with pets, so you can also consider changing policies to reflect that.
Be Fair
Even if you are friendly with some of your tenants, its best to avoid showing favouritism. All of your property policies should apply to all renters equally. Otherwise, you may lose the respect of your tenants and they may choose to leave.
As a landlord, you should use the Fair Housing Act as your guide when creating policies for your tenants. The act prevents discrimination of renters based on their religion, race, national origin, sex, familial status and disability.
All tenants must be treated equally and not doing so will mean being reported where you’ll be required to pay for penalty charges.
This means late fees must be collected from those who delay their rent payments. A renter must not be prioritized over another when it comes to property repairs and all rent fees must the same.
If a renter finds out that they’re paying higher since they belong to a specific group, then you may also end up with a filed legal complaint.
Bottom Line
If you discover that a tenant broke a rule, its best to take time to talk with them. Judging the actions without asking their side is unfair. So, enforce the rules but see to it that you have a specific and fair policy outlined when renters fail to comply.
If you have any questions about this or would like some help dealing with your tenants, you can always contact ourselves at Rent Easy. Our extensive array of property management services is designed to make sure you get the most from your investment. Contact us today for more information!
