by Lauren Hewitt

Created on: September 30, 2008

As a landlord, a top priority should be to keep your tenants happy. When tenants are happy, they want to stay longer and when they want to stay longer, there's a very good chance that they will treat your property well. There are a number of ways to ensure that you have happy tenants. None of them are difficult to do or time consuming, but they can make all the difference to the people you have left your keys with.

1. Make sure that you have a proper lease in place. Making sure that your tenants know their rights and obligations is important protection for you and your property as well as for them. Make sure that your lease is up-to-date, and compliant with all relevant local bylaws. It doesn't have to be complicated, but that little piece of paper could save you both many headaches, should any problems arise.

2. Make sure everything in the house is in working order. If you're leaving your tenants with a fridge of questionable reliability, chances are that you are going to get an irritated phone call from your unhappy tenants. Check all appliances before renting the property, including the furnace, fireplaces, etc. Quality used appliances are relatively easy to come by and can go a long ways towards happy tenants.

3. If the property includes a yard or outdoor space which requires care, leave them with any tools they may require to be able to do so. Tenants aren't generally interested in purchasing lawn mowers for rental properties, but if you leave a lawn mower in the garage, they will likely use it. Keeping the exterior of your property in good shape is important for house value and to the neighborhood...no one wants the neighbor who doesn't mow his lawn for months at a time.

4. Check in with your tenants. From time to time (but not too often, you don't want to annoy them), shoot them an e-mail or give them a quick call to see if they have any issues or concerns.

5. Deal with issues efficiently. If something comes up, either deal with it yourself or ensure that the necessary contractor or vendor is contacted in a timely manner in order to deal with it. Nothing irritates a tenant faster than having to wait for their landlord to fix something.

6. Whether or not you choose to allow your tenants to paint or change the property in any way cosmetically is entirely up to you. However, giving your tenants a bit of elbow room in this regard will generally make them happier. For example, if they want to paint and you would rather they didn't, include on the lease that they can paint but will have to pay to have the rooms repainted when they leave. Or, suggest that they paint a couple of walls instead of an entire room. Being able to personalize your living space is important, so if you're able to bend on the paint...do it.

Most importantly, remember that you aren't just renting a property. You are renting a home. Being mindful of that fact will go a long way in ensuring your tenants remain happy.

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