Like any new customer’s acquisition process, it is very often, lengthy, costly, and extremely tedious. The same can be said for acquiring new tenants to your property. So, once you have secured your new tenant, you must keep him/her happy. Happier tenants will stay longer with you. The bonus part is, they will become your promoter – loyal enthusiasts who will keep renting and refer others, fueling growth to your rental property.

Managing your property is already an uphill task. Therefore, it is possible that retaining your tenants is not at the top of your priority list. However, in the long run, allocating time and effort into keeping your tenants happy, will help to reduce your overall workload and your acquisition costs.

With happier, long-term tenants, this means fewer follow-up activities, fewer discussions between the tenant and yourself in understanding what they want, easier contract renewals, easier access for routine inspections and maintenance, and much more.

Let’s look at our 5 tips to keep your tenants happy and staying with you longer-term.

Communication, Communication, Communication

Today’s society relies a lot on instant gratifications. That includes information, right at their fingertips. Gone are the days, where updates are provided via email, SMS / messaging app, or over a phone call. That is only possible if you have a dedicated call center team running round the clock. For most, that is not even an option. People want to access information that is important to them at their own time and convenience.

Communicating with your tenant and being transparent with all the information that is important to them, allow the trust to be built. When you give them all the information that they need, they will not be following up with you constantly to check up on the status. This makes it easier for the tenant and reduces your workload and costs.

With up-to-date and easy-to-read information via the iBilik+ Tenancy Management App, tenants can see what is being billed to their accounts, request maintenance or repairs, and even communicate with their fellow community members within the accommodation or co-living.

Top-Notch Maintenance

Nobody wants to stay in a place where things are constantly failing or falling apart. Today, one of the most crucial things is a stable and usable, high-speed internet connection. With many working or studying online from their accommodation, it is important to keep that line-up and running. If it does fail, send your technical team to address the issue immediately.

The most important thing to remember is that people just want to feel heard. There is nothing more frustrating for a tenant than having maintenance requests ignored and unaddressed. Ensuring you respond promptly and acknowledge their repair requests is going to quickly show your tenants that you are hearing their request and are doing your best to rectify it for them.

Quick and easy features in the iBilik+ Tenancy Management App, will allow you to quickly send a text to your tenant straight from your desktop or mobile. This is an excellent way to work through your tasks quickly, whilst still building and maintaining a relationship with your tenants.

Understanding of Your Tenants’ Wants and Needs

With today’s need for social distancing, everyone wants a place that they can call their home, having their own private space. One of the things to remember as a landlord is to give your tenants as much freedom as possible. This is not a dormitory or a prison. Therefore, it’s important to your tenant that you or your maintenance team do not access their property anytime at your convenience or as you see fit. Minimise the amount of access required into their private space. If the tenant maintains the property in a good condition and you know that, there should be no reason to conduct any spot inspection of the property.

There will be circumstances where minimal access is unavoidable. This could be an emergency or ongoing repair in the property, but if you can provide enough prior notice and are respectful of the tenants’ time and space, you shouldn’t come across any issues. Again, this is a lot about building trust and in turn, allow your tenants to feel comfortable and have a higher desire to continue to call your place their home-away-from-home.

Build that Trust, so They can rely on You

Ideally, You want to deal with a tenant who is reliable, respectful, and responsive. The same applies from a tenant standpoint. They want the same in return. Balance your role as a professional landlord whilst still being just a regular person that they can relate to.

The only reason your tenant is likely to reach out is that it is your responsibility to help them resolve any issues. Therefore, being prompt in your responses is an important way to show that their concerns or issues are important to you. Make it a priority to answer their calls, or return them promptly, get back to their emails or text messages within a reasonable time frame. A general rule of thumb is to get back to them within 12-24 hours from the time they contacted you.

With inbuilt communication features in the iBilik+ Tenancy Management App, you can quickly send a text to your tenant straight from your desktop or mobile.

Freebies and Incentives for Your Tenants

People crave attention and want to be acknowledged as important. This can be a big deciding factor when your tenant is considering a contract renewal. Small incentives like furniture, kitchen and air conditioner cleaning, updated appliances, or maintaining the current rent can be very attractive to long-term tenants and incentivize them to feel appreciated, without having to break the bank.

Not to forget, throw in zero deposit renting, your tenants will be signing your contract, whether new or for renewal quicker, when they no longer need to worry about where to find the upfront cash within a short period of time. iBilik+ Zero Deposit Room Rental is powered exclusively by our insurance agency partner, BlueDuck, and underwritten by Liberty Insurance Bhd – who has 42 years of experience in Malaysia.

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Thanks for reading this blog on the 5 ways to Keep your Tenants Happy and Stay with you longer! You might also be interested in:

• Zero Deposit Rental – Why do I need to know?