While landlords are busy finding new tenants and managing the trouble tenants, sometimes they forget to stop and make sure they are recognizing good tenants. A good tenant is one that pays on time, follows rental rules, keeps common areas clean, and refers other good people. There are ways for landlords to keep good tenants by offering incentives.
It’s more expensive to gain new clientele than it is here to retain a current customer, so keeping an existing tenant makes more financial sense. By the time you advertise, screen a potential tenant, clean and repaint a unit, it would have saved time and money to keep the good tenant you had. When you offer yearly incentives before their lease is up, it’s a win/win by making the renter happy to be recognized and it will keep you, the landlord, happy knowing you are keeping a tenant for another year.
Most people would be excited to receive a financial incentive. You could offer a free month of rent, a lease renewal cash bonus, or paying a utility for a year. This might cause a tenant to want to stay over the cost of moving elsewhere.
If you are going to offer a cash bonus, you could also go the gift card route. Gift cards are popular because it allows the tenant to get themselves a gift they normally wouldn’t buy themselves, for example a flat screen TV, sports ticket, or new furniture. That might be the perfect gesture to keep your tenant excited to add that item to their current apartment.
Maybe your tenant can’t stand their appliances, paint job, or flooring. You could offer to re-carpet, furnish the apartment with the understanding that the furniture would stay after they move out, or offer them a covered parking spot.
Ask your tenant what they would prefer as a renewal incentive and negotiate from there. This is the best way to keep your good tenants staying put.