How to Build a Positive Landlord-Tenant Relationship

Tenants – and more specifically, happy tenants – are the backbone of any commercial real estate venture.

Without tenants to fill your property, there wouldn’t be much of a property to manage. The landlord-tenant relationship is a mutually beneficial partnership that creates trust, understanding and empathy between you and those who occupy your property. Maintaining and strengthening that relationship could very well be the most important aspect of your job, and one that should never be taken lightly.

Here are some important tips for how to build a positive relationship with your tenants.

The Importance of Positive Landlord-Tenant Relationships

In a broad sense, the relationship between landlord and tenant could be defined as simply a business arrangement. A landlord offers a part of their property to the tenant, the tenant signs a contract, and the landlord gets paid while also ensuring that the tenant’s needs are met. However, there’s more nuance between the lines that must be observed if a true relationship is to form.

Maintaining a good landlord-tenant relationship means employing empathy whenever possible. When a tenant brings a concern to you, that concern should be addressed honestly and with true thought for the tenant’s wellbeing, rather than just as a contractual obligation. By showing genuine care for your tenants, you’ll be proving to them that their happiness matters to you, and that you don’t simply see them as a source of income. This, in turn, leads to greater trust and a bigger chance that your tenants will stick around or even recommend your property to others.

 

5 Tips for Building Positive Tenant Relationships

Building your landlord-tenant relationship won’t happen overnight. But with a little work and a dash of empathy, you’ll be on your way to building a firm tenant partnership that extends beyond paperwork and the occasional maintenance call.

Consider these tips:

 

Set Expectations

A strong relationship starts with a strong beginning, and a big part of that beginning will be establishing what the tenant can expect from you and your relationship with them. This is the time to share specific policies, rules and processes that benefit both sides. Make a strong first impression by being friendly and letting them know you’re available to help and answer questions. By making them comfortable in the beginning, you set the stage for trust to grow over time.

 

Clear and Consistent Communication

The landlord-tenant relationship is the same as any relationship when it comes to communication: you must do it regularly and clearly. Make sure your tenants have an easy means of getting into contact with you, and respond at your earliest convenience to their issues. Reach out to them on occasion to see how they’re doing, and make it a point to visit your property and ask your tenants face to face about any concerns they may have.

 

Address Concerns Immediately

The longer you make a tenant wait after they’ve approached you with a concern, the worse you’ll look as a landlord. Your tenants need to know they can trust you to take care of an issue as soon as possible. While you might not be able to fix the tenant’s problem immediately, you can absolutely respond and let the tenant know that a fix is coming soon. A little communication goes a long way.

 

Invest in the Right Tools

Tenants are more likely to trust a landlord who uses their resources wisely. You can utilize tenant communication software to maintain contact with tenants and keep track of issues as they arise. A good database can help you find professionals to fix on-site issues more quickly, and having the staff and technology on hand to address problems in the moment will earn you more trust in the eyes of your tenants.

 

Respect Privacy

One of the biggest ways to win over a tenant is to be respectful of the space they’re renting from you. While the property may be yours, the portion they’re paying you for is their personal space. Remember to be respectful while in that space, both of the unit itself and the belongings within it. Whenever possible, give your tenants advanced warning when you need to access their unit, and be mindful of how you act and what you say in the space they call home.

 

Why Relationships Between Landlords & Tenants Fail

The landlord-tenant relationship will need to clear plenty of hurdles to succeed, and it may not be successful. Here are a handful of reasons why the partnership might fail:

• Lack of Empathy
• Troublesome Tenants
• Lack of Respect on Either Side
• Dishonesty
• Ignoring Communication
• Failure to Establish Rules
• Failure to Listen
• Failure to Follow Through

If these issues can be avoided and the above tips followed, you’ll have created the foundation for a strong landlord-tenant relationship that will mutually benefit both parties. The more you can employ genuine empathy and concern for your tenants’ wellbeing, the more trust you’ll earn from them. And when mutual trust exists, the result is an easier living situation for them, and a more successful livelihood for you.

If you’re in need of a positive property management relationship, the experts at DRK will guide you, answer your questions and help you make the most of your real estate venture.

Take a look at our commercial property management services right here, and scout commercial real estate available in the Columbus, Ohio, area here.

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