As a landlord it can be difficult to keep tenants happy. You can advise them as to what you think is best, but sometimes you will look like the bad guy when you can’t get repairs done as soon as they would have liked. Eventually this can lead to tenants beginning to pay for repairs themselves and assuming you are unreliable. This doesn’t look good for your business, and you might end up with empty houses.
You can stop tenants becoming upset by simply giving them advice before the weather changes, so that they can keep on top of jobs around the home. After all, you don’t live with them and can’t help them keep the house as efficient as you may like it. According to the Big Tenants Survey 2014, only 35% of tenants were happy with their landlord. But, what do tenants really want? We’ve pulled together a list to help you become a better landlord.
- Location- 24% of tenants said they did not like the location of their home. As a landlord this is a difficult problem, you can’t pick the house up and move it. We can suggest perhaps making the house more secure or building higher fences to give the tenants segregation, so they can make the most out of their own space. Areas such as The North East and North West have a higher satisfactory percentage, perhaps this means the cost of rent is the issue?
- Quality- This depends of your budget, but everyone likes to feel proud of their home. Maybe it’s time for an update? Getting plain kitchen units and giving the house a coat of paint can make a massive difference. Then it’s up to the tenant to spruce things up and get it just how they like it.
- Communication- Over 60% of tenants felt that their landlord was not communicating with them enough. Communication is key in this business, otherwise you can’t be available to fix problems and you won’t know yourself what needs doing to your house. If you want tenants to respect your home, they must first respect you. Make yourself disposable and trustworthy.
- Care- Over half of the tenants which took part in the survey felt that the landlord didn’t care about them and their family. This can be very unsettling for parents when they are living in a home they feel may not be efficient or safe. It can make a huge difference to check in on your tenants, just make sure they are doing okay and there aren’t any problems in the house.
- Understanding- With the changes that have been happening with Welfare Reforms, it can be difficult for people to keep up to date and understand everything that is going on. A lot of tenants didn’t think they would be affected by the reforms when in fact, they actually would be. Perhaps as their landlord you could take it upon yourself to explain the effects this may have on them.
- Payments- These days it can seem a lot easier to most of us to receive payments through direct debit. It’s stress free and of course as a landlord you have peace of mind that the rent is going to be paid. However nearly 40% of tenants said it would cause them problems to have the money come out by direct debit due to how they budget. Perhaps you could review a tenants circumstances and give them the option of how they wish to pay?
- Upgrading- 62% of tenants said that they would actually be willing to pay up to £80 more per month to get into a newer or bigger property. Landlords appear to invest in smaller homes, perhaps bigger investments are the way forward?
It seems that overall landlords need to be a bit more understanding with their tenants and show them that they care. Your portfolio is an investment, you should take pride in it and look after those who fund it. We understand how difficult this can be, we will try our best to give you advice and keep you updated with tips to keep your houses problem free. If you would like more information like ‘What do your tenants really want from you?’, why not print out ‘The Complete Tenants List’ or take a look at our other articles to stop disasters in your home? Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with our updates.
