How well are you liked by your tenants? Do you provide nice little sign-on perks like 10% off first-month’s rent? How about at Christmas time? Are you the landlord that puts a discount coupon for the local burger joint in with the December newsletter or community update?
Despite these goods attempts, tenants may still hate renting from you, especially if you don’t:
- Provide a nice place to live. Tenants have the right to reasonable expectations when it comes to their rental property. According to NOLO, “Under most state and local laws, landlords must offer and maintain housing that satisfies basic habitability requirements, such as adequate weatherproofing, available heat, water, and electricity, and clean, sanitary, and structurally safe premises.”
- Acknowledge needs in a timely manner. Since tenants have the right to the reasonable expectations outlined above, you, as the property owner or manager, are under obligation to keep things maintained. This typically means a 24-hour response time or less for emergencies and 2-3 days for everything else. Ignoring or ‘putting off’ a tenant’s request is one of the quickest ways to make it off the “liked” list.
- Offer security. In the same vein as bullets #1 and #2, is the expectation of security and safety. NOLO says: “Landlords in most states have some degree of legal responsibility to protect their tenants from would-be assailants and thieves and from the criminal acts of fellow tenants. Landlords must also protect the neighborhood from their tenants’ illegal activities, such as drug dealing. These legal duties stem from building codes, ordinances, statutes, and, most frequently, court decisions.”
- Respect all tenants. While it may seem unnecessary to even say it, tenants want to be treated with respect. They want open communication, they want to be acknowledged and they want to feel like more than just the means to your end. As such, they want to be spoken to nicely.
The Tenant Relations Experts
We love tenants and make every effort to help ensure those living in our properties do so because they love us back. See what a difference Class A Management can make. Contact us today at 817-295-5959 or send an email to .