To ensure your rental property is profitable, it’s important to attract and keep high-quality tenants for the long term. Frequent Tenant turnover can result in you having to pay excess amounts for advertising, end of tenancy cleaning, and other maintenance costs.
Fortunately, the experts at DRP Management have put together a useful guide that will help you attract and retain long-term tenants! To increase your tenant retention and attract high-quality renters, follow the steps below.
Update Your Property
In competitive rental markets, it is important to keep your property in its best shape! You can achieve this through making small changes or conducting renovations. If your rental has any chipped or broken tiles, be sure to replace them.
Similarly, if you notice the paint on your property is fading, you can repaint to make sure the unit looks its best. For existing tenants, you can even offer to let them choose an approved paint color. This will make them feel more at home and affirm that you trust them and want your renters to feel comfortable in their space.
Prioritize Your Tenants’ Safety
As a landlord, it is your duty to ensure the safety of your tenants as long as they live on your property. You can achieve this by conducting end-of-tenancy cleaning between tenants, installing external surveillance cameras or replacing the door and window locks with more effective ones.
Be Flexible with Your Rental Policies
While it’s important to make sure your tenants abide by the terms of the lease agreement, it’s just as essential to make sure your rental policies are reasonable and consistent. For instance, requiring tenants to have an early curfew or making them mow the lawn on certain days will hinder your chances of retaining them for the long term.
Similarly, if you choose to change or enforce new policies, be sure to let your tenants know ahead of time. We also recommend encouraging your tenants to approach you if they have specific concerns with your policies and make adjustments if appropriate.
For instance, if you have certain hours when you are available by phone but they tenant works during those hours, consider allowing them to send you an email or leave a voicemail so they can let you know about any issues as soon as they arise.
Welcome Your New Tenants to the Neighbourhood
Move-in day can be stressful and chaotic for tenants. However, it’s important to greet your tenants and make sure they feel at home in your rental as soon as possible. We suggest providing your tenants a neighbourhood guide and welcoming them in person.
This may seem like a small action to you, but your tenants will appreciate you taking the time to make sure they’re doing well. This is also a great opportunity to answer any questions a tenant may have, and perform a move-in walkthrough.
Respond to Tenant Questions Quickly
When your tenants raise a concern or reach out to you, it’s important to respond in a timely manner. Even if you’re unable to deal with something immediately, do your best to let them know when you’ll be able to address their question.
Additionally, responding to maintenance and repair requests quickly will prevent small issues from escalating, which will save you money and ensure your tenants know that their well-being matters to you. Furthermore, when your tenants eventually move out, they’ll be more likely to recommend you to their friends if you’ve taken their concerns seriously.
Communicate Effectively
When you communicate with your tenants, be sure to actively listen to them and speak to them kindly and patiently. This will inspire them to ask you questions and prevent miscommunications or conflicts.
In addition, when you communicate well with your tenants they’ll likely provide you with valuable feedback on how you can improve your property, which will increase it’s value in the long term.
Respect Your Tenants’ Privacy
Maintaining boundaries is important. While you are the property owner, it’s important to respect that the rental is your tenants’ living space. Be sure to let your tenants know in advance when you’ll be visiting the property and avoid asking invasive questions about their lifestyle or habits. This will also help prevent legal disputes and ensure you and your tenants have a healthy relationship.
Make Rent Increases Reasonable
When you increase the rent rate for your property, keep in mind that your tenant have other expenses and financial obligations.
Do your best to make rent increases reasonable and give your tenants plenty of advance notice. It’s important to keep your rental lucrative, but if you set a rent rate without considering the above you risk losing tenants and having extended vacancies.
In Conclusion
Having long term tenants is important to maximizing your ROI and reducing your stress. If you need help finding long-term tenants or managing your rental property, reach out to the experts at DRP Management! Our team is ready to help you achieve your investment goals and reduce your stress so you can focus on expanding your investment portfolio.
