9 Landlord Tips to Have Better Relationships with Your Chicago Tenants

The core of the success of your rental property is to develop a respectful and cordial relationship with your tenant. This may sound easy on paper but, in reality, it takes a good amount of effort if you want to enjoy the benefits. 

Sometimes, professional relationships are great right away while other times it can be challenging. It’s inevitable that everyone experiences both during their time as a landlord. 

As a landlord, you want to increase your skills further to develop solid relationships with your tenants. Here are some of the ways to cultivate healthy interactions to forge a strong partnership:

1. Improve Your Communication Skills

As a landlord, you’ll be facing prospective renters, existing tenants, and contractors a lot of the time. This necessitates developing your communication skills. You’ll be dealing with different personality types, so it’s important to be patient and to learn how to listen. 

A lot of conflicts can be easily avoided when you establish open communication. Ask about your tenants’ needs so you can easily figure out solutions before more serious issues arise.

2. Be Straightforward From the Start

Practice being direct and transparent. When creating your property listing, avoid misleading statements and overpromising. It leads to distrust and frustration from prospective renters. If you can’t deliver something, be forthright rather than leading a potential tenant on. A sincere discourse from the beginning leads to a rewarding and clear landlord-tenant relationship. 

3. Be Clear About Your Values

Aside from generating a monthly income, landlords have their own vision for their rental business. They have values they focus on and seek to impart to their tenants, such as pride in giving the best home and rental experience they can to tenants. A landlord who cares beyond their bottom line can win loyalty from the renters.

The way you show your values can be felt by the tenant. People can feel sincerity. If the relationship goes a step beyond just financial transactions, like having a landlord who is also proactive in finding ways to make the tenants’ lives easier, then tenants are bound to stay for the long haul.

4. Remember That Your Tenants Aren’t Just Business Ventures

In the management of your rental, there will be situations that will ask for your understanding and empathy. Being able to handle these situations properly will affect your reputation. People are not just sources of profit, they also have personal lives and crises to deal with. 

For example, if your tenant just lost a parent and has to cover funeral expenses, consider allowing them to pay rent late if they can’t make it that month. If you’re a fair and compassionate landlord, then your management decisions will benefit everyone. You’ll earn long-term tenants. 

5. Have Different Channels of Communication

If you only use one channel for communication, then sometimes messages can get lost. Using several channels can help reach everyone in a timely manner. For example, if you only email your tenants, then they might not receive the message on time. It might even be stuck in the spam folder. 

The more important the message, the better it is to communicate in multiple ways. Call or drop by in-person to have a face-to-face meeting on top of sending a notification online. In-person conversations contribute greatly to a positive landlord-tenant relationship.

6. Improve Your Customer Service Skills

Customer service is everything in a business. The better you serve your clients, the more they are loyal to you. Landlords are expected to give excellent customer service. Frequently brainstorm ways to enhance your tenants’ rental experience.

Limiting your interaction to rent collection will backfire. The more sensitive you are to your tenants’ needs, the more they will value renting in your property. Rather than constantly looking for new tenants, you’ll be focusing on taking care of your long-term renters. This saves you both time and money.

7. Take Time to Maintain the Rental Unit

Just because you’ve a signed lease, it doesn’t mean that your job as a landlord is finished. Under state law, you’re responsible for delivering a habitable rental space. This means attending to proper trash disposal, repairing leaks and property damages, and maintaining the health and safety of the residents.

Remember that your competitors will also be busy improving their rentals to offer more value. Strive to keep your best renters and conduct property upgrades from time to time in order to stand out. The more long-term tenants you have, the more steady your business earnings will be. 

Additionally, long-term tenants tend to take better care of your property since it gives them a stronger sense of home.

8. Make Sure You’re Reachable

Your tenants trust you to make their worries go away. They may also need to clarify certain matters from time to time. It’s your duty to always stay within reach or designate a person to contact in case you’re not around for the day. When tenants know they can always count on you to be available and be responsive, then trust is formed.

Of course, boundaries should exist, and you’re not obliged to give in to all their demands. But it’s your job to answer calls, reply to messages and communicate frankly to your tenants. Doing so ensures taking care of your professional relationship.

9. Make Use of Technology 

Tenants will appreciate convenience in their lives. If you make it possible for them to navigate property issues and pay rent, they’re more likely to stick around. One way to do this is by maximizing technology to work on your behalf. This can appear as online rent payment and digital reporting of property maintenance requests.

Automation saves a lot of time for both you and your tenants. Instead of receiving maintenance request calls and providing status updates for each request, you can simply go online. Technology can be a strong tool in upping your customer service game.

Bottom Line

Applying these 9 landlord tips can result in a better landlord-tenant relationship that's greatly valued. Taking time to focus on your clients and their needs will strengthen this partnership!

If you need any help with managing your property, consider hiring MTD Property Management! We’re the premier property management company in Chicago. Whatever the needs are of you and your tenants, we have you covered! Contact us today to learn more about our services.