The idea that landlord and tenant relationships need to be adversarial is outdated and damaging.
You should be working hard to establish and maintain positive, professional relationships with your residents. They’re your customers, after all, and in addition to providing a safe and habitable rental home for them, you want to ensure they have a positive rental experience.
Happy tenants who feel good about their landlord relationship are:
More likely to pay rent on time
Prone to taking care of your property
Likely to renew their lease agreement
You’re looking for tenant satisfaction because it means you save money on unpleasant things like evictions, property damage, and turnovers.
Happy tenants lead to happy owners, and we’re providing 5 tips on how you as a landlord can have a better relationship with your Littleton tenants.
1. Provide Tenants a Stress-Free Leasing Process
First impressions will matter to your tenants, and you’re making that first impression before they even move into your property. Think about your relationship even before your tenants become your tenants.
Be accommodating and flexible during the marketing and leasing process. When you’re responsive to a prospective tenant’s questions, and you make it easy for them to schedule a showing and complete an application, you’re starting off on a good foot. If you’re willing to negotiate lease terms and work with tenants on good outcomes, you’re more likely to start your relationship off in a positive way.
An easy, well-organized move-in process can also help. When is the last time you moved? It’s stressful and tiresome. Your new residents are going to have a lot of details to manage, and if you can help them experience less anxiety during the move-in process, you’re going to have a good start to your relationship.
Provide a move-in process that’s transparent, easy, and effortless. Answer all their questions about the lease and their responsibilities ahead of time. Make sure the home is clean, functional, and ready for them. Provide an introduction to how things work – show them how to turn the appliances on and where to find the air filters. These things will make a big difference during the early part of the tenancy.
2. Share Expectations Early and Continue to Reinforce Them
At the beginning of the lease period, talk to your tenants about what you expect.
We talk a lot about communication and how important it is to relationships. The better your communication at the beginning of the lease period, the more trust you and your tenants will have with each other.
As they’re signing the lease and settling the details, discuss the expectations that you have. Be willing to listen actively and answer their questions. Your residents need to know:
How they should pay rent
What they’re responsible for in terms of maintenance and landscaping
Whether they’re allowed to have pets and guests
What the process is for reporting maintenance
All that information should be in the lease, but if you talk about it, you can reinforce those things and demonstrate your willingness to communicate.
Keep talking about these things. Reinforce what you assume they already know. Tenants want to hear from you, and they want to feel secure in what their responsibilities are. No one likes surprises or misunderstandings. When you establish open and transparent communication, tenants are going to trust you.
3. Prioritize Maintenance Requests
Nothing is more important to your tenant relationship than the way you handle routine and emergency maintenance requests. Responding to all of your tenant’s repair needs with a sense of urgency protects the condition of your property and shows your tenants that you care about their comfort and safety.
Again - listening is important. Even if it seems like a minor inconvenience that can probably wait, make the repair as soon as you can. After the work has been done, follow up with a call or a text to make sure the tenants are pleased with the results.
You’ll also need to be available in case there’s an emergency. Tenants will get irritated and angry if there’s a flood in the bathroom and you can’t be reached. Be ready to respond, or work with a local Littleton property manager who can remain on call.
4. Be Respectful of Your Tenant’s Privacy
It’s true that you own this home, but it’s your tenants who are living in it.
Respect their space and their privacy. You want to have a good relationship, but you don’t want to become over-friendly to the point that you feel emboldened to stop by every weekend just to chat. You won’t be able to maintain a positive relationship if you’re showing up at the property unannounced. It’s disruptive to tenants, even if they like you. Professional boundaries are important.
Your tenants want to be left alone to enjoy the privacy and quiet of their home. While conducting an inspection during the course of the tenancy is reasonable, schedule it well in advance.
5. Provide Tenants with Convenience
Tenants are looking for an easy and convenient rental process. They want to pay rent online. They want to move in with their pets. The want strong internet, a well-maintained home, and a good relationship with you.
Be willing to invest in upgrades and updates that will make life easier for your tenants. If you’re not already collecting rent and maintenance requests online, figure out a way to do that. There are payment apps you can download and accounting software systems that work well for landlords.
Think about a pet policy so you can offer a pet-friendly rental home. This contributes to tenant satisfaction and retention.
Allow for anything that will improve your tenant’s quality of life. Maybe they want a video doorbell or in-unit laundry. Be willing to listen, and respond in the best way you can.
We know tenant relationships take work. If you don’t have the time to invest in creating a better relationship with your tenant, consider working with Littleton property managers. We’d be happy to help.
Please contact us at PURE Property Management, Lakewood property management experts serving residential landlords in West Denver and the surrounding areas, including Littleton, Golden, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, and more.
