Real Estate Blog

The relationship shared between a landlord, and his or her tenants varies from one individual to the other. It’s important to foster a good working relationship with your tenants to ensure that they rent from you long-term. Failing to find common ground early on can lead to issues down the line with your renters. 

Although it’s the responsibility of both parties to partake in the building of the relationship, the landlord is the overseer. Therefore it’s in a landlord's best interest to utilize some crucial tips in building and maintaining a healthy and respectful landlord-tenant relationship. 

Keep reading to discover the nine tips a landlord should use to forge solid relationships with their Clarksville tenants!

1. Communication

In order to build a strong relationship with your tenants, you need to inform them of your vision and values, provide regular communications, and utilize multiple communication channels. 

Start by communicating your vision and values as it’s a means of striking a rapport with the tenants. You will also be able to explain rules in more detail to ensure that the tenant fully understands their duties and responsibilities under the lease as well as yours. 

When communicating with tenants it’s common to rely primarily on emails or written notices when informing tenants of special events, new rules, deadlines, etc. However, there is a risk that the tenant may miss information if it’s only coming from one channel.

Therefore, it’s wise for landlords to embrace multiple communication channels, especially when conveying a crucial message. Consider placing a call or visiting tenants even after providing a written notice.

You may even want to ask your tenant at the start what their preferred method of communication is to facilitate future interactions. 

2. Regularly Visit the Property

When you perform regular property inspections and visits you’ll be able to gauge what the tenant wants and needs. You’ll also be able to better maintain the unit and prevent major damages from occurring. 

3. Treat Tenants like Customers

It’s important to remember that your tenants are customers. Therefore, it’s paramount to always treat them with respect. This will allow you to earn their trust in return and ensure that the relationship is mutually beneficial to the parties involved.  

4. Treat Tenants with Compassion

Your tenants are not to be treated as a line item on a spreadsheet. Remember that they are individuals with their own lives so always address issues with compassion and fairness. A tenant will be more willing to renew their lease if they feel respected and heard by their landlord. 

5. Manage Your Investment by Adopting a Service Mindset

As a landlord, you are providing your tenant with a living space that serves a quality product and service. Adopt a service mindset. Go beyond collecting that monthly rent and constantly think about the pain points your customers face in your property and strive to find suitable ways to improve the product.  

6. Find Balance Between Firmness and Empathy

You will learn over time that one aspect that defines a good property manager is the ability to balance empathy and firmness. Remember that you must follow the Fair Housing Act. If you bend the rules for one tenant and not for others you can find yourself in a difficult position.

This means that while you may understand where a tenant is coming from, you have be sure to treat all tenants equally and be firm when enforcing policies. 

7. Conduct Regular Property Maintenance

If you cannot/ wouldn’t stay in a property due to its condition, should you expect a tenant to do the same? For a property to be deemed habitable, it should be meet all safety codes and standards and be regularly maintained. 

be sure to respond to tenant maintenance and repair requests promptly and update them regularly on the progress being made. They need to know that you’re taking active measures to ensure their safety and comfort.

8. Be Responsive 

Tenants what to know that they’re being heard. Therefore, the easiest and most effective technique for building trust in a landlord-tenant relationship is by being available and offering quick responses to their requests.

Be sure to promptly respond to emails and return calls. Even if you don’t have an immediate answer to a tenant question, acknowledge that you’ve seen it and that you’re taking active steps to find the answer for them. 

9. Make Things Easy for Tenants

You cannot escape the incorporation of technology in this era regardless of the business you operate. If you want your tenants to reside in your property with ease, consider implementing automated property operations.

To be a good landlord and make your rental business run more smoothly, start simple by setting up a tenant portal for your property. Tenants will appreciate having an automated system that allows them to communicate with you, send requests and pay their rent. 

Bottom Line

There are many ways to build stronger landlord-tenant relationships. By implementing some of these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to retain tenants longer, thus protecting your investment. 

Still feeling overwhelmed? Call upon Cory Real Estate Services, the leading property management company. With our management services, you’ll be able to maximize your ROI while minimizing headaches! Contact us today to learn more.