Want higher-quality tenants to stay longer or to foster better relationships?

Whether you’re a hands-on landlord and work directly with your tenants or you have a property management company handling tenant relations, you’ll agree that the relationship you have or your manager has with your tenants is vital to reliable rental income and property care.

Everything from a landlord’s communication and engagement style to a property management’s staff behavior, processes and systems will foster good (or poor) relationships between property owners and tenants.

We’ve drafted an investor’s guide with tips and reminders to help boost the quality of your or your property manager’s relationship at each distinct stage of your tenant’s occupancy.

If you are using a reputable property management company, they will have their own best practices in place to keep tenant relations open and fluid. Be sure to ask your manager about what they do to build a healthy tenant relationship and how they serve their tenants’ needs.

Securing tenants

Building a healthy relationship begins well before the lease is signed. When prospective tenants are going through the property showing and application process, you can begin building the relationship expectations early on. The experience a prospective tenant has through the application and screening process can strengthen their likelihood not to walk as they consider other potential rentals. High-quality tenants are often rare, so you want to create a positive experience from the very first meeting.

• Make the entire experience frictionless by explaining what they can expect as they go through the application process

• Make your first impression a lasting one that sets the tone for the lifespan of the relationship

• Document and track everything once tenants are approved so you stay on top of each interaction

• Create processes and automation to make onboarding new tenants easier

• Keep the relationship friendly, but business-like

Signing the lease

Once your prospective tenant has passed the screening and application process and is ready to sign the lease, the experience should remain consistent. Just like what Carvana did for the car buying experience, you want to make the new tenant feel great about their decision and excited about moving into their new home.

• Be prompt and thorough with documentation and make sure tenants understand their lease and any “legalese” in documentation

• Personalize the relationship by making note of important dates such as birthdays (even for pets!), anniversaries or trips as well as lease milestones and renewals

• Make accessing their lease information or requesting help multi-accessible (email, phone, text, website portal, etc.)

• Make sure your tenants know what to do in the event of an emergency (and what constitutes an emergency), whether it is with them or at the property

• Provide a disaster plan, or a disaster playbook, for the tenant in the event of a weather event or power outage

• Make note of your tenant’s schedules, for example, if a tenant works the night shift at a hospital, don’t call them during the day when they may be sleeping to schedule a repair or ask about rent

• If you are not in physical proximity to your property, make sure you have someone who is that can respond if an issue were to arise and provide their contact information to your tenants with the appropriate context on when to use

• As much as you want to make yourself accessible, you also want to respect your tenant’s privacy—always prepare them for any interaction at the property and coordinate with the repair or service team and what the tenant can expect so there is as little disruption to their privacy as possible

• The move- in experience is critical to a long and healthy relationship. You will want to make sure everything is working and the unit is very clean and presentable for move in day. You want to avoid any nuisance issues for the tenant otherwise your relationship may be off to a rocky start.

• Do a walkthrough of the unit and show the tenant how to operate everything. (Think of emergencies- how do you shut off the water or flip a breaker) This will save you money in the long run and also avoid inconveniences for the tenant.

Occupancy

The most critical part of engagement is during the property occupancy. Regular communication can preempt an unexpected non-payment, unnecessary property damage or non-renewal/default.

• Consider simple day-to-day activities that you can make easier for your tenants such as a convenient place for trash disposal or hoses out by the garage for washing their car

• Make sure you have swift issue resolution, especially with property safety and comfort like heat or water disruption

• Always follow up before, during and after any property-related situation

• Be patient with venting tenants—they’ll feel better afterward, especially if it’s action you can and should take as a landlord or manager

• No relationship is beyond repair—if you drop the ball, communicate and resolve it quickly. Be humble and apologetic where appropriate. Let the tenants know you care about their enjoyment and/or safety occupying the property.

• Be flexible in coordinating and scheduling repairs, updates or improvements to the property

• Consider how you can reduce the impact of any improvement inside or around their property to reduce noise, dirt/dust or other intrusions during occupancy—work with tenants to coordinate the best outcomes

• Always listen before reacting or judging the situation—ask open-ended questions to better understand your tenant’s perspectives and what they may be trying to manage in working with you as a landlord or property manager

• Oversee contractor work for repairs or improvements. Be present and communicate updates to your tenants so you can help manage their expectations.

Lease termination

It matters how you end the relationship as well as how you begin it. You never know when a past tenant will refer a new tenant to your property or provide a great (or poor) review about your property or management services.

• Request feedback for improvements to the property as well as how the relationship is being handled (you should do this throughout tenant occupancy as well)

• If you have multiple properties/units, regular communications with your tenants gives you the opportunity to ask them to refer their friends or acquaintances

• Conclude lease termination with a thorough walk-through and checkout process

• If applicable, thank the tenant for making rent payments on time, being flexible for repairs or contractor work, or any other accommodations they may have made during their tenancy

There’s nothing wrong with being creative and infusing a bit of your own personality into a tenant-landlord/manager relationship. The more your tenants get to know you or your manager, the more you build trust that can go a long way to reinforcing the reliability of lease payments and how your tenants will care for your property. When you keep open communication at the forefront of your relationship-building efforts, you’ll win in the end and so will your tenants.