Why do Tenants Leave?

Question

What Are the Top Three Reasons Tenants Leave Your Property?

Maurice Grant · Answer

Average renter stays 2 years in an apartment 4 years in a house. Moving may have nothing to do with your property. Job change, buying their own home, needing a bigger place because of a blessed event etc.

A more important question is how long does it take to get a new quality tenant in? This goes back to how well you maintain your property, how desirable it is, how well managed, is it competitive in price and do you keep on top of management especially vacancies?

Tenants moving out and moving in is an important part of the business. You need to have systems in place to handle it well and make it a smooth routine.

Ian Walsh · Answer

Job, change in life and upgrading.

Michael Noto · Answer

Most of our tenants move because of job relocation, they are buying a house, or the space no longer is adequate for them.

Sylvia B. · Answer

The overwhelmingly greatest reason our tenants have left is that they bought a house. Other than that we've had one divorce, one lost job, and one health issue.

Isaac Barrow · Answer

In our experience:

1) Doesn't suit their needs for space. We've had a lot of tenants leave bigger, 3-bed, 3-level properties because they want one-level houses so they don't have to walk up and down the stairs.

2) If it's a couple, they have a kid, or divorce.

3) Job relocation.

Steve Vaughan · Answer

My bf/gf and roommate tenants (same thing basically) move about 8x more often than singles or marrieds and give me more drama to boot.

All being equal, I avoid shacking up together and roommates if possible.

Jennifer T. · Answer

I'm a smaller time landlady (6 doors, 5 of them less than 2 years).  I've had two tenants leave because they bought a house.  Two tenants leave because they were a couple and they broke up.  And three tenants leave/got evicted because they could no longer pay the rent.  For that last reason, now I screen a lot better!

When I was a tenant, my reasons for leaving various places was 1) moving to another area  2) moved in with b/f (now H)  3) bought a house.

There was one additional time where I moved out because the unit was poorly maintained.  It was at a big apartment complex.  To give them credit, they would always send one of the maintenance people within 24 hours, but they NEVER fixed the main problems with the HVAC system.  The a/c would go out about once a week in the summer because the unit ran out of Freon.  Obviously there was a major leak somewhere.  I pleaded with them to FIX the problem.  Don't just keep sending the guy to fill it with Freon for the dozenth time.  But they refused.  Then, in my second winter there, the heat would go out every 1-2 weeks.  Same thing.  The maintenance guy would come out and fix it, but it would keep going out again.  I moved out right before that next summer started.  My ONLY reason for moving was that messed up HVAC system.

They also had fire extinguishers in the hallway that had been expired for a few years.  I complained about that a few times also, to no avail.

John Underwood · Answer

@Steve Rozenberg That is a loaded question. I'll give my thoughts

They couldn't really afford it because a through background check was not done

Job Loss

Job relocation

Eviction - they stopped paying because ...

They need a bidder place due to new baby or family member that comes to live with them

They get put in jail

They need a cheaper place

They want a shorter commute to work

Divorce

Death (in family or one of tenants)

You raised the rent too much

Perceived or actual problem with the house

High Utilities at your house

Why do Tenants Leave?

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