Retaining Tenants
How to Retain Your Tenants.
It is inevitable that once in a while, tenants move out of your property. However, when they move out by the droves, something might be wrong on your side. A good landlord will realize and act accordingly. If you are in a similar fix, here are the top reasons that cause tenants to leave and ways to retain them.
- Too Expensive
When a rental unit becomes too costly, tenants will take flight. This could be because they lost their job or their expenses might go up because of a new addition to their family. They might also move out as a financial cushion to save more. As a landlord, you could offer to relocate them to a cheaper unit, that is, if you have different vacant rental units that are priced differently. You could also opt to reduce the rent if that gets to keep the tenant. This might seem like a loss to you, but it is in fact worth it considering what you will be losing when trying to fill a vacancy.
- Requires More Space
There are various life events that could cause tenants to move to a rental that has more space. Such events include childbirth, marriage or even pet adoption and require an extra bedroom, larger kitchen, an extra bathroom or additional storage space. To prevent them from moving out, you could offer them a larger unit if you have one that is available.
- Downsizing
On the other end of the scale, a tenant may wish to relocate because their current unit is too big for them. They probably find the space too big to maintain. In other cases, they might not be able to meet the rent. To curb this, you could offer such a tenant a smaller unit if one is available in your rental units and that fits their needs. You could also provide an incentive like reducing their rent to try and keep them.
- Job Relocation/Change
Some tenants might have no choice but to move to another city due to a relocation and there is nothing you can do about this. Also, job changes spell salary change and might be accompanied by moving into properties that cater to the adjusted incomes. In this case, if a tenant has had a job change that brings in more income and is looking for a new place to live in, you could offer them an upgrade to their apartment with a slight increase in their rent. If their job change led to a lower salary, you could either offer to reduce their rent so as to retain them or to move them to a cheaper unit if one is vacant.
