How to get your best tenants to renew their lease again and again

Once you’ve been a landlord for a while, you learn a few things and gain experience on how to increase your chances of choosing a great tenant for your property. Finding a great long-term tenant is difficult, so when you have a good one, do what you can to keep them! Here are a few tips:

1. 1. Take care of the property and be responsive and professional from the start. When something is broken or needs attention, get it fixed as soon as possible. At the same time, be able to say “it can wait” if they want that crooked mailbox adjusted or front door repainted because of minor chipped paint.
2. 2. If your rent is at the top of the market, you should have one of the best-looking rentals in the area. Don’t raise your rent every year. Even if you’re already a little under market, keeping a tenant is much more profitable than having a vacancy in hopes of getting that small rent increase.

   

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3. 3. Keep your tenants in the loop. If you’re sending over contractors to do maintenance or inspections, give your tenants a courtesy notice. Usually at least 24-hours in advance. This is typically required by law anyway.
4. 4. Given an incentive to renew the lease! Our leases typically default month-to-month after the initial year, but we offer them either a $75-$100 discount off the first month of the new lease if they renew for another year. Sometimes in lieu of a month discount, we offer a small upgrade like a new ceiling fan, light, or other similar upgrade project.

So far, I’ve had great luck retaining my best tenants using the above steps. They want to stay and I’m glad to have them as long as they’d like!

Do you have other tips for retaining your best tenants?