52.5% of people are renewing leases more than ever before. With that being said to ensure you continue to secure lease renewal contracts with your tenants, those are some things you can do to increase the chances of property retention.
You can do several things ahead of time, especially when you have perfect tenants. Read on now and learn some critical pieces of advice that will help you keep your properties at capacity.
1. Have Evidence for Rent Increases
Sometimes when tenants are given their lease renewal information, something they're going to pay attention to is the increase in rent. If you want to ensure you retain tenants, ensure that you have the evidence you need to increase the rent.
For example, if the cost of living in an area has increased, this is information that will support the increase in rent. You're raising your tenant's rent because you've also got to ensure you have enough to continue living.
It's crucial to understand the laws in your area because raising the rent is prohibited if you live in a rent-controlled area and could cause you to face penalties for attempting to do so.
2. Consider Offering Incentives
People never shy away from an incentive or a bonus, which is something you can use to increase the chances of people renewing their leases. Before you offer a tenant an incentive, we recommend you review their track record as a tenant.
Based on their track record, you can offer incentives such as:
- Discount on their rent
- Appliance upgrade
- Access to new amenity upgrades
Another reason to consider offering upgrades is that you understand how much goes into fixing up a property to market it to other potential tenants. For example, if a tenant doesn't renew their lease, you've got to go through cleaning and upgrade the unit.
Not to mention having to spend money on marketing to attract other potential prospects for the property.
3. Streamlines the Renewal Process
People don't want to jump through hoops to renew their leases. Before the renewal season comes up, ensure you've done everything in your power to make the process as easy as possible for your tenants.
This could mean using a tenant portal that allows tenants to respond electronically to the lease renewal offer. It's also beneficial to offer the lease renewal at least sixty days in advance.
This will give people time to make their minds up and respond to the lease renewal offer. Another way to make the process easy is to send tenants email notifications or text reminders to respond before reaching the end of the sixty to ninety days allotted for a response.
Lease Renewal Tips for Property Managers
When it comes to increasing your property lease renewal rate, there are several things you can do. These things include making the renewal process more straightforward and considering offering incentives to your tenants.
Contact Washington Property Management for more help today.
