One “Best Practice” for Communication with Tenants

Do you like it when communication with tenants goes for long stretches of time without saying a word, or does this make you nervous? If you're like the most proactive landlords, long periods of no communication should make you very nervous.

Best practice is to engage your tenants at least as frequently as they pay rent. If you like the personal touch, you can talk to them or text with them one-on-one. If you have more units, you can write a newsletter.

Newsletters need not be complicated. We were recently given an example of a quarterly newsletter written by a MassLandlords member. It was one 8 1/2" x 11" page, double-sided, with conversational text and low-budget graphics. It didn't take long to produce, and it clearly communicated a couple of key messages:

• "You can save money on household expenses by doing XYZ."
  • (Helping your tenants with financial literacy enhances their long-term ability to pay rent).
• "You should immediately report other tenants who let their dogs or cats relieve themselves in common areas."
  • (This is a soft way to tell everyone not to let their pets do this).
• "You should always use safe extension cords for space heaters" (with pictures showing dangerous and safe ones).
  • (Even though we carry insurance, it's better to not have to deal with the aftermath of a fire).
• "You should let us know if anything is wrong."
  • (This closes the loop and encourages two-way communication).

Remember that landlording is a constant battle against aging buildings. The sooner you hear about issues, the cheaper they are to fix. Regular communication encourages reporting lower-severity issues. You can decide whether something needs to be fixed now or can safely be deferred.

The moral is that regularly communicating with your tenants can make excellent business sense.