Building Healthy Tenant Relationships through Communication

My life as a side-hustling landlord is busy. And even though my investment portfolio is only one property, managing that property and working a full-time gig is a lot to juggle. I realized early on I couldn’t do it all.

I know I need to rely on my tenants to be the first line of defense and help protect my investment.

So, I begin each rental relationship with open and honest communication. And I am frank. I tell my tenants my rental is an investment property, and I expect them to take care of specific issues; I am not a concierge service. The property is as much their home as it is my business. I am equally clear that I will be there for them if anything serious goes wrong.

What has developed from these conversations has surpassed all my expectations.

We have established a level of mutual respect. I am neither overburdened nor disregarded but appropriately kept in the loop about need-to-know issues. And even though it’s hard for me to toot my own horn, I will admit it makes me feel good to hear my tenant telling neighbors she has the best landlord ever.

And I chalk it all up to communication. By opening up and building relationships with my tenants, they:

Take Care of Minor Issues

Minor maintenance issues can eat up a lot of time, but my tenants and I have developed mutual respect for one another’s time and responsibilities. They know not to call me for every burnt-out light bulb or loose doorknob. They are empowered to take care of small items themselves—and let me know about them later. And I have noticed as my tenants become more self-sufficient, they delight in taking care of the property even more.

Have a Sense of Ownership

Knowing I am entrusting my tenants with my investment has given them a sense of pride over the property, and they provide appropriate notice of maintenance issues I need to know about. Such as:

Major maintenance issues

I tell my tenants they can never overcommunicate to me about serious maintenance issues. Things like broken windows, flooded rooms from a burst pipe—that sort of thing. They know to call me right away, and I will always be there to tend to it immediately.

Potentially serious issues

It is vitally important they give me a heads up about problems that don’t seem serious now but could turn into one. For instance, if the HVAC is making a funny sound or there is a water spot on the ceiling, I need to know before it grows into a more significant problem.

Small issues—before they accumulate

Landlords can suffer the death of a thousand paper cuts. Something like a broken ceiling fan seems minor, but if issues like these are left unattended to until the tenant moves out, they accumulate into a long list of repairs, time-consuming work, and costly unrented time.

My tenants are on my side to let me know about these items as they occur—but they aren’t urgent.

And if the damage is beyond normal wear-and-tear that will be covered by the security deposit, advance notice gives me time to shop for the best deals, so I can return more of their security deposit. There are even times when it makes sense to let my tenant find the best deal and have the work done themselves, as long as I approve it in advance.

Keep Me Informed

I ask a lot of my tenants. But sometimes they ask of me, too. Like when they are going to be late paying rent. Because we communicate openly, they come to me with a plan and a date for when rent will be paid—and follow through. Moments like these build trust in our relationship.

And during lease renewal, they remind me they have been proactive in protecting the property, alerted me to issues before they became serious and expensive, and have overall been a problem-free tenant. I am happy to consider these factors when setting new rental rates.

Opening up the lines of communication to develop healthy relationships with my tenants has been incredibly rewarding. Now I can manage my workload by tending to the issues that need my attention, and I am not unnecessarily bogged down with minor maintenance requests. It is gratifying to see my tenants take pride in caring for their home and my investment.