Improving your Focus on Tenant Retention

As a landlord, finding good tenants is half the battle. But sometimes, once the perfect tenant is found, there is the tendency to sit back and hope the tenancy continues on without any hitches. The other half of the battle is keeping good tenants.

As landlords, we can fail to continue to put in the hard yards to ensure our tenants stay on. It is important to acknowledge that the race is not won once the chase is over. By taking the time and putting some extra effort into your tenant/landlord relationship, you’ll be on the right track to ensuring the long-term viability of your tenancy contract and continued tenant retention.

So, what are these magical tenant retention strategies we speak of?

1. Attending to maintenance requests promptly

   One of the key points in keeping your tenants happy is to act quickly and effectively to all maintenance requests. As a tenant, there is nothing worse than a leaking shower or broken oven. It goes without saying that urgent repairs such as burst pipes or gas leaks should illicit and urgent response. For your tenant’s sake, responding to the smaller, more mundane requests as efficiently as the urgent ones will result in an appreciative, and happy tenant.

2. Regular rental increases rather than large lump sums 

   Tenants understand there is the possibility of rent hikes throughout their tenancy. However, most tenants, like the rest of us, work to a budget that includes their rent as one of their major expenses. Any major rent hikes that are far and above their current rate will no doubt throw their budget out. Keeping rent rises small will help keep your tenant’s budget in check and more affordable. Small, more regular rises are a lot easier to swallow than one lump sum.

   Keeping your rent slightly below market value will also work towards keeping tenants on for the long term. They can see there is added value in your property when compared with others on the market.

3. Open lines of communication

   This point ties in nicely with Point #1 in keeping open lines of communication between landlord and tenant. No matter what the enquiry. This will help build a solid relationship built on trust and respect with your tenant, which will work well for you in the long run.

4. Choosing the right property manager (Hint hint!)

   Choosing the right property manager who works for you is one of the most important choices you can make. The right property manager can help select the most well-suited tenants and work as the intermediary between landlord and tenant. Finding the right property manager you can trust will work for you and your property is key in the whole process.

Good tenant retention will not only ensure your property is well maintained and cared for, but it will also save your hip pocket in the long term. The costs involved with tenancy changeover including letting fees and lost rent when vacant all add up. Taking the extra time to nurture your existing tenants and putting in some tenant retention strategies in place will result in happy landlords, happy property managers and happy tenants.