Due to the many complaints that they have, over 40% of tenants say that they hate their landlords. Although it's impossible to make all tenants happy all of the time, there are ways to improve renter relations.

If you want to easily manage your property while making healthy profits and avoiding tenant turnover, there are things that can help. Treating your tenants well and being mindful of their needs can go a long way toward making them satisfied with their living situation.

Here are the top ways that you can improve renter relations as an Olympia area landlord.

Screen Tenants Well

One of the secrets to having great tenant relations is to choose them well in the first place. The better you screen your tenants, the more likely it will be that you'll get along with them.

Some tenants are easier to get along with than others, no matter what kind of landlord you are. Be sure that you look for tenants who are responsible, personable, and reliable from the very beginning.

Set Expectations Early

Although you should aim to be an approachable landlord and should be flexible from time to time, you also need to set clear expectations from the start. You should then follow any rules that you set.

Be sure that your tenants know what is expected of them when staying in your property. Create a strong lease agreement and speak to them to set rules and make sure that they understand them.

Make Records

The more organized that you can become as a landlord, the fewer chances you'll have of friction with tenants. Creating a solid lease agreement and keeping records of everything will help immensely.

Keep proper documentation on your relationship with tenants for future reference. This can help to solve disagreements if they arise and will also show tenants that you're professional and organized.

Prioritize Great Communication

One of the keys to maintaining good tenant relations is to keep open lines of communication with them. You need to make communication a top priority and should be friendly and approachable at all times.

Let your tenants know that they can communicate with you and that you'll be responsive when they reach out. Being honest and open with tenants, being willing to listen to suggestions, and responding to their questions and concerns will win you some big points when building a relationship with them.

Follow Regulations

For your own sake, you must follow all laws and regulations regarding tenant-landlord relationships. If you've created an income property, be sure that you're familiar with Fair Housing laws. Understand what is expected of you on the federal, state, and local levels.

Many laws are in place to protect your tenants, so be sure that you follow them closely and that you take them seriously. Doing so will protect you from legal action and will also help keep your tenants satisfied at the same time

Respect Your Tenant's Privacy

During property management, it's essential that you give your tenants adequate privacy and that you don't overstep. Work to keep healthy boundaries and give your tenants space.

Even if you own a property, remember that you don't have unregulated access to it at all times. Unannounced visits or intrusions on a tenant's privacy can cause tension in your relationship with them.

Aim to communicate in non-invasive ways such as through text and email whenever possible. Keep your tenant's privacy concerns in mind at all times.

Repair and Maintain Your Property

One of the best ways to maintain strong relationships with tenants is to maintain your property and make it more comfortable and livable for them. Don't wait until something goes wrong with your property to ensure everything is working, but remain proactive.

Keep a proactive maintenance plan in which you'll inspect safety features like locks and smoke detectors regularly. Plan to repaint the property, upgrade appliances and HVAC systems, make renovations, and perform other duties to keep your property at its best.

Maintaining a property will help keep your tenants happy and make it more likely that they'll renew their lease. On top of this, it will also help to maintain the value of your property and ensure that it's in great condition for the next tenant down the line.

Make Payments Easy

Charging a reasonable rent is one of the ways that you can keep your tenants satisfied. Overcharging your tenants can lead to tenant dissatisfaction and lower property retention rates. Aim to make a good profit while also keeping your tenants happy.

In addition to this, be sure to make paying rent as easy for tenants as possible. Give them ways to pay using various methods. You may want to let tenants pay rent using online portals.

It can also be helpful to be flexible with payments. Offer a little bit of flexibility with payments from time to time if tenants are going through a hard time financially.

Show Your Appreciation

If you want to improve your relationship with tenants, then be sure that you show your appreciation from time to time. Hosting community appreciation events for your tenants, sending them special gifts on holidays, or making other small gestures can go a long way.

If you're happy with your tenants and want them to renew a lease, consider offering incentives to do so. Give them a discount for renewing their lease or offer a special gift if they decide to do so. Not only will this encourage them to stick around but it will also help them feel appreciated as well.

Improving Renter Relations

If you want to maintain good renter relations, you need to be sure that you treat them well. Prioritize great communication, maintain your property, and set clear expectations if you want to get along with your tenants.

If you need a real estate agent in Olympia, WA, be sure to consider Sotheby's. Our 40+ brokers have over 600+ combined years of experience selling and purchasing homes in Thurston County. We're thoughtful communicators and work hard to help our clients make informed decisions.

Ready to get started? Browse our agents now and find the perfect person to meet your needs.