Top Reasons Why Good Tenants Leave and How to Stop This Trend from Happening
In today’s economy, rental properties are still a great way to build wealth, and passive income, but during the process of owning rentals, every landlord must face the reality that good tenants are going to come and go.
Sadly, there are a wide variety of reasons why good tenants leave but, the reality is that there are several reasons why they leave, and there are solutions that landlords can utilize to keep those tenants for longer than 12 months at a time.
More Affordable Rental Options Are Available For Tenants Locally
One of the first reasons why good tenants leave is because more affordable rentals are becoming available locally.
This is completely understandable because every tenant wants to save money monthly.
Landlords must regularly stay on top of what’s happening in their rental market to avoid losing their good tenants to lower-priced, competitive rentals.
This means taking the time to actively investigate comparable listings in the local area. This research will tell every landlord what other properties nearby are currently renting for and if those properties have any features or amenities that their rental properties don’t currently have.
After doing some comparable research, landlords must consider the price differentials and be willing to lower the monthly rent (if needed), or grant their tenants concessions if the tenant is willing to renew their lease for another 12 months.
Problems With Neighbors
Another common thing that stops good tenants from renewing their leases is when they have problems with neighbors in the area.
By neighbors, we mean other tenants in the same building that they live in or neighbors that may live on the same street.
When problems with neighbors occur, landlords must take their tenant’s feedback into account and work hard to resolve those issues with neighbors immediately because, if the tenant feels uncomfortable living in that rental property, they won’t hesitate to move when their lease is up for renewal.
Promises Were Not Kept
In today’s world, every tenant wants to know that their landlord sees them as more than just to rent check, the tenant wants to know that the landlord is going to keep their promises, especially when it comes to maintenance or repairs that may be needed at the rental property.
If promises are not kept, tenants won’t hesitate to move, especially if the promises that were broken directly affect the tenant’s quality of life living at the rental property.
Landlords who have problems keeping their promises should invest in a calendar-based system that will remind them of the promises that they’ve made and provide them with consistent reminders until they complete the jobs that need to be done.
The Landlord Was Hard to Reach
Besides knowing that they have a landlord who keeps their promises, tenants these days also want to know that their landlord is going to be easily accessible when they need to communicate with them.
Unfortunately, tenants who feel that their landlord is hard to reach or doesn’t respond quickly to their issues won’t think twice to move when their lease is up, especially if the lack of communication with the landlord directly affects their quality of life at the rental property.
Landlords who have difficulty communicating with their tenants should hire a property management company like Rent Portland Homes – Professionals because, our team has an in-house staff that handles everything from tenant selection to maintenance, so landlords don’t have to.
Problems BIG or SMALL Was Ignored
When problems arise, one of the first things every landlord should do is try to resolve the problem immediately, regardless of whether it’s big or small.
In 2022, many landlords often underestimate the importance of resolving problems, especially if it’s something that they consider to be minor that can wait to be resolved for 24 hours, or even over a weekend.
Tenants must know that when problems arise, and as soon as they report them, the landlord will take steps to resolve the issue immediately.
Not Enough Amenities
As more rental properties come on the market, another common reason why good tenants leave is that the property that they are currently living in doesn’t have enough amenities.
Aside from major renovation, there’s not much that a landlord can do to add new amenities to a rental property but, there are improvements that a landlord can make along the way including the following:
- Adding smart appliances
- Repainting the property
- Adding new flooring
- Adding more security features to the unit
- Adding on-site storage
- Adding a dog run
Landlords who are on a budget after COVID-19 can take heart that it’s entirely possible to retrofit a rental property with some of the latest high-tech amenities for under $1000.
Each landlord should make consistent improvements to their rental properties throughout the year because those improvements can often be the deciding factor that motivates a tenant to renew their lease for another 12 months or search for another rental property when their lease is up.
The Tenant Had Unexpected Life Changes
So far, we’ve offered you several common reasons why good tenants typically move out within 12 months, another common reason that good tenants leave is when they have unexpected life changes.
Some of the most common and expected life changes occur when a tenant loses their job, must relocate for a job, gets married, has children, or does something else.
Sadly, there’s not much that the landlord can do when there is an unexpected life change, but when it comes to a job loss, landlords who have good tenants who have paid on time within the last 12 months would be better served to work with the tenant until they start their new job and start earning an income once again.
Taking the time to work with the tenant will preserve that landlord-tenant relationship will be something that motivates them to renew their lease with the landlord once it’s up for renewal.
Do you have rental properties in Portland Oregon that need property management? If so, contact the Rent Portland Homes – Professionals team today by calling us at (503) 646-9664, or clicking here to connect with us online.
Our team has decades of combined property management experience and managing tenants that saves owners the time, money, and hassle of managing their properties themselves.
To get a better return on investment from your rental property reach out to us today, you’ll be glad that you did!