Good Landlording

Good tenants are precious, and landlords should do all they can (within reason!) to keep them happy and encourage them to stay.

In this episode of Good Landlording, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson talk about how to keep tenants happy. Starting off on the right foot even at the viewing stage, so it creates a positive impression for new tenants, and keeping them happy once they’ve moved in.

They borrow some ideas from the management of employees, and apply them to the management of tenants. This starts with an “onboarding” process to create a positive relationship – or the “psychological contract” in management speak.

It’s not all management theory. The episode is full of lots of practical tips to help landlords look after their tenants and keep the tenants happy.

>> Related episode: #1: What makes a good tenant?

>> Ask a question for the show: Click here for question form

What is “onboarding”?

Richard and Suzanne have both worked for American companies, and are used to the concept of “onboarding programs” for new employees.

Onboarding is similar to what we call an an induction in the UK, but is more than that. It involves, welcoming a new employee into a company, showing them the ropes, and explaining what support there is, and also what the expectations are for the working relationship.

Why the “psychological contract” is important?

This onboarding idea is an important part of what’s called the “psychological contract” between a company and an employee. It’s how both parties understand their relationship outside of their formal contract of employment. It’s all about how the employee feels about their boss and the company. It can be positive, or negative, and it starts at the interview stage.

A similar psychological contract arises between tenants and landlords. Instead of a contract of employment, there’s a tenancy agreement. This psychological contract is how the tenant feels about their rental property and their landlord, and is key to having happy tenants.

We need to think about the psychological contract as starting from the very first moment that we meet the tenant when we’re choosing them through agents or whether we’re doing it ourselves. It continues when they move in and throughout the rest of the tenancy, until they eventually leave.

What is a tenant onboarding or induction?

Suzanne sees the relationship starting once she receives a message from an applicant through the online letting platform. Before they even view the property, she will have sent them suitability questions and may have called them (to avoid time-wasters). She also sends them a a link to the website for her property business, which has FAQs and a pet policy.

At the viewing itself, she explains she’s an Accredited Member of the NRLA, and that she’s a good landlord who takes her obligations seriously and keeps the property in good repair. She sets expectations by saying she is looking for good long term tenants who look after the property, pay the rent on time, and are good neighbours. If they have a pet, she’ll talk about her pet policy, and she tells them she increases the rent each year. This all ensures they know what they’re getting before they make an offer to rent the property and send the holding deposit.

Both Richard and Suzanne show the tenants around the property when they move in, and leave a house manual / welcome pack.

Here are a few tips of things to cover when tenants checkin:

• Communication: explain the means of communicating with tenants, such as a WhatsApp group with the tenants to make it easy to contact each other.


• Inspections: Suzanne calls these “maintenance visits” as that’s more collaborative. Set expectations for the frequency. She does the first visit a fortnight after the tenants move in to check if any repairs are needed, and answer questions. After that, she does inspections every 6 months or so.


• Waste management: when are the bin days, and explain they shouldn’t leave the wheelie bins on the pavement.


• Stop cock: show them how to turn off the water.


• Meters: show them where the meters are, including the water meter which is often on the pavement, and point out that the inventory will have photos of the meter readings from just before they moved in.


• Pets: if they have pets, go through the pet policy, and stress that dogs should not be left alone for more than 4 or 5 hours.


• Additional occupiers: make clear that they cannot sublet without permission and that they need to obtain formal consent if they would like someone else to move in.

Tenant reviews of landlords – Marks Out of Tenancy

If the landlord has had reviews from tenants, it’s a good idea to send a link to the reviews to applicants, or put a link on the landlord’s website.

Some large landlords may have Google reviews (for instance Chester Homeshare).

An alternative is Marks Out of Tenancy. It’s an independent review site that is specifically set up for tenants to rate their landlords and letting agents. It has both good and bad reviews, and the idea is that it will help tenants see who the good landlords are. A bit like a Tripadvisor for the PRS.

Landlords should encourage their tenants to leave reviews on Marks Out of Tenancy.

Provide a welcome pack or house manual to tenants

Landlords should give tenants a welcome pack or house manual with useful information about the property and the area.

Suzanne leaves a QR code for her electronic house manual, a specific password protected page where she uploads the latest version all the relevant documents such as gas safety certificates, How to Rent guide, and information about the house. Here is a link to a template page of her house manual.

What quiet enjoyment means

A tenancy agreement is a form of lease, which means the tenants have the right to live in that property, and it “belongs” to them for that period of time. Consequently, the landlord can only enter a single let property with the permission of the tenants, unless there’ is a, an emergency or something like that’s an emergency.

Even if a clause in the tenancy agreement says the landlord or letting agent can enter the property with notice, they still still need to have the tenant’s permission. The right to quiet enjoyment trumps this contractual right.

Managing repairs

Sometimes when a tenant reports a repair, they don’t hear anything. It doesn’t mean nothing is happening, as the landlord or agent may be getting quotes or finding someone to come out. But if they don’t tell the tenant what’s happening, they don’t know.

Both Richard and Suzanne will ask the trades person to contact the tenant direct to arrange a visit, provided the tenant is happy with this. Sometimes tenants aren’t around in the day, and they give permission for the landlord or agent to let themselves in.

Be professional and business-like

It’s important to be professional and business-like, and not get emotionally involved. Have excellent customer service, be fair and reasonable, but still set boundaries.

This includes making clear that it’s a two way process: the landlord carries out repairs and they pay the rent and look after the property.

Credits

Music: “Paradise Found” by Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License.