When you find a good tenant, you won’t want to let them go. After all, having a reliable person in your rental means operations run smoothly. That way you won’t have to worry about things like unpaid rent, damage, or disagreements.

Given how important it is to get good tenants to stay, we believe that all owners should have a solid tenant retention plan in place.

This plan should be used to incentivize tenants for things like consistent rental prices, facility upgrades, open communication, and more.

Since so many struggles to implement a retention plan, we’ve outlined four ways you can prevent good tenants from leaving below.

1. Know What to Look For

Selecting a tenant is a big decision. After all, who you pick can seriously impact your business. That’s why you need to prioritize applicants based on objective facts about them. The qualities that you will want to look for include a healthy track record of on-time payments, proof of a steady income, a good credit report, valid references, and no criminal records or history of evictions.

We’ve even developed a special screening process to help with this. Our process has been specifically designed to target these areas to determine how reliable a candidate can be.

2. Address Tenant Concerns Quickly

One of the easiest ways to keep good tenants is to address their concerns quickly. This means that there should be speedy communication when they bring up problems to you. Simply being there to answer questions proves to tenants that you care about them, the building, and its surrounding community.

This concern should go beyond the tenant’s unit, with you addressing all common areas of the building as well. Be sure to regularly clean, sanitize, and do a maintenance check. We even suggest implementing a maintenance schedule to ensure nothing gets overlooked.

Addressing their concerns even before something happens, shows them how much you care. So, be sure to communicate quickly and directly with them. Otherwise, tenants may think that you don’t care about providing them with a good place to live.

3. Offer Good Amenities

It’s a good idea to know what tenants are looking for in a rental. Whether it is a gym, party room, open floor plans, or a beautiful outdoor area; keeping on top of what tenants want is key to keeping them around.

For many renters, lifestyle quality is the main factor in determining whether they decide to stay or go. Given this reason, landlords should want to remain competitive in the market by offering perks that go above and beyond a typical rental.

But these upgrades also don’t need to be extravagant. Simple things like a bike rack, landscaping upgrades, and a clean-up of the common area can prove to tenants that you want to make the building their home.

4. Incentivize

For good tenants, there should be no lag on getting in touch with them when it’s time to renew their lease. You should let them know well in advance (we suggest at least ninety days before expiry) that you’re interested in renewing the contract with them.

If they are on the fence about staying and are good tenants, consider offering them an additional incentive to stay signed on.

Be open to the idea of keeping the rental rate the same, or even consider speaking to them to see what it would take to keep them in the unit. Sometimes this may be things as simple as re-painting, offering a deep clean on their floors, or even throwing in a parking spot to keep them happy. 

Regardless, keeping good tenants in your units should be a priority. After all, having a quality tenant in your rental will mean less of a headache down the line. And ultimately, renters look for some pretty simple things. Things like quick communication, stable rental prices, frequent maintenance check, and suite upgrades can keep them happy and staying in the property longer.

So, if you’d want more information on how you can keep your good tenants, consider speaking with a member of our staff today by phone at 317-546-3482 or emailing at info@midwestpmi.com.

03/10/2022