Lease Renewal Strategies: How to Retain Valuable Tenants
San Diego's rents are among the highest in the country, making it a great place to be a landlord. However, with rents so high, it can be difficult to retain tenants. Landlords need to use good lease renewal strategies if they don't want to deal with pesky vacancies.
How can you keep your tenants happy so they stick around for more than one lease term? We're here with a few ideas that may help. Read on to learn more.
Keep Rent Increases Reasonable
Sometimes as a landlord, it becomes necessary to increase the rent after the lease term ends. If you do this, however, it may cause your tenants to try to find housing elsewhere. If you have great tenants and you want to focus on tenant retention, you should try to minimize rent increases.
Make sure to never increase rent beyond what's standard in the neighborhood, otherwise your tenant will see how easy it would be to move elsewhere. Consider not raising the rent at all if it's within your ability to do so, and if you must increase it, keep it fair.
After all, rent increases are a top reason that people move.
Communicate Early and Well
Open communication is key when it comes to a good landlord-tenant relationship.
Send your tenants a lease renewal notice well in advance so they have time to look over the terms and ask any questions. Some tenants may want to negotiate, so try to leave yourself open to that possibility.
Tenants appreciate landlords who treat them as individuals. Keep that in mind when you open up communication.
Consider Offering Incentives
What incentives are you offering returning tenants? So many landlords focus on new tenant specials, but they forget the importance of tenant retention. If you don't give your current tenants anything, they may look for some of those new tenant specials that other landlords are offering.
You could offer a small gift card, for example. Some landlords offer decreased rent for a month, or a free service, such as a one-time cleaning service. This also helps the landlord because it keeps the property in better condition.
Keep Your Property in Good Condition
Tenants want to live somewhere safe and comfortable. If you maintain your property well, your tenants are more likely to stick around.
Remember that your property is an investment. You should be re-investing some of your earnings back into your property to improve it. Keep it well-maintained and try to add new amenities when you're able to keep your tenants happy.
Try These Lease Renewal Strategies
These lease renewal strategies can help you retain your favorite tenants. Keep your property in good condition, offer incentives, communicate, and keep rent increases reasonable.
Do you need help managing your San Diego rental? At PMI San Diego, we customize our property management services to suit the unique needs of each and every one of our clients. We can't wait to work with you!
Get your free rental analysis or reach out for a consult today.
