15 Jul 6 Tips to Increase Tenant Retention for Your Rental Property

As a landlord, you probably already know that some aspects of the job are less fun than others. One of the least enjoyable tasks is trying to fill an empty unit. Not only is searching for tenants time-consuming and frustrating, but it can also be fairly costly.

The longer your unit remains vacant, the longer you have to wait before the next monthly rent check. A vacant rental also comes with additional costs such as marketing, repairs, tenant screening reports, and so on.

In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how you can increase your tenant retention rates, and encourage the same tenants to stay for years to come. By minimizing your turnover rate, you’ll be amazed by how much time and money you can save.

1. Create a Good Relationship with Your Tenants

The best way to keep your tenants in your unit beyond their lease agreement is to ensure you create a good relationship with your tenants. This means being respectful and professional in your communication, following Ontario’s tenancy laws, being quick with repairs, and going the extra mile to make sure your tenants enjoy living in the apartment. Crucially, it also means being respectful of your tenants’ privacy.

Find out more about how you can create a great tenant-landlord relationship here.

2. Know Your Market

While a good relationship is crucial, it won’t make much difference if your tenants find a more affordable, more stylish apartment down the road. Just because your units were highly attractive ten years ago, this doesn’t mean your units will still appeal to the current market. Be sure to stay up-to-date on market trends in your area.

Find out the typical demographic of renters and research what they look for in a property. We recommend determining the average monthly rent price in the area, and making sure you aren’t asking for too much relative to your area.

3. Think About What Improvements Can Be Made

Just because you think your tenants will stay in the unit for another year, this doesn’t mean you get a free pass when it comes to making improvements to the unit. You could even check in with your tenants to find out whether they have any requests for maintenance or appliance replacements. Be sure to schedule a unit review to test the fridge, the washing machine, and the other appliances to see if they can or should be replaced. If not, simply making simple improvements like repainting, reflooring, and eliminating mould can make a huge impact on your tenants’ satisfaction.

4. Start with Professional Tenant Screening

A good tenant retention rate always starts with tenant screening. By ensuring you select good quality tenants, you can instantly increase your chances of finding tenants who are likely to stick around beyond the end of the first lease. A good tenant screening will include references from previous landlords, information about job security, and financial information. Armed with this knowledge, you will be able to choose tenants who are less likely to experience a dramatic change in financial circumstances.

5. Nurture Your Personal Relationship

While it’s important for you and your tenants to have a positive professional relationship, it can also help to develop a personal relationship, too. This works best in buildings where you are a live-in tenant, or in smaller apartment buildings.

Keep track of your tenants’ names, children, jobs, and interests. This way, you can strike up a friendly conversation when you are visiting the unit. Your tenants will develop a greater sense of trust and respect for you if you take the time to get to know them as people.

6. Let a Property Manager Do the Hard Work

In many cases, the reality of being a landlord is too time-consuming to do properly. Many landlords find that they simply don’t have the practical means to nurture relationships with all of their tenants, see to timely repairs, and make necessary improvements. As a result, their tenant retention rates may begin to suffer.

Here at Del Condominium Rentals, we offer a full property management service so that you don’t need to worry about your tenants or your vacant units. Instead, our team of experienced property managers will take care of everything. We offer professional marketing, tenant screening, and legal advice, in addition to dealing with repair requests and property visits.

Our team knows how to make your tenants feel comfortable, safe, and taken care of, so that they’ll want to stay in your unit for as long as possible. Are you ready to simplify the landlord experience? Contact our team today by emailing us at sales@delrentals.com or calling 647-952-3644.

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