Gauging Tenant Satisfaction

As a property management company, one of your main goals is keeping your tenants happy.  Tenant satisfaction is a big part of what helps a property management company build a great reputation for themselves.  Ensuring that your tenants are satisfied is extremely important if you want your property management company to grow and truly prosper.  If tenants are unhappy, they may be inclined to leave, putting you right between a rock and a hard place.  Here are a few tips on how to gauge tenant satisfaction:

1- Tenant satisfaction surveys: Some property management companies will hand out a short, one page tenant satisfaction survey, similar to the one in the picture to the left.  Surveys could provide great inside information as to what your tenants are really thinking.

2-  Face-to-face chats: Speaking with tenants face-to-face is a good way to build a relationship with them and gauge their satisfaction.  A maintenance visit is a good opportunity to build a relationship with your tenants and engage in a face-to-face chat.  Ask tenants how everything is going and ask for some feedback.  You'd be surprised by what tenants will tell you and you never know, feedback may just give you some great ideas on how to keep your tenants satisfied.

3- Utilize print materials:  Sharing information with your tenants through print materials is another great way to gauge their satisfaction.  Consider leaving newsletters for them to read outside their door or even hand deliver the material.

4- Phone calls:  Encourage your property management staff to share their phone numbers with tenants so that tenants know who they can turn to if an issue arises.  Satisfaction will come from giving your tenants comfort knowing that if an issue comes up they know who they can turn to.

5- Create a tenant retention program: A tenant retention program is a great way to put forth effort to keep current tenants from moving out of your building.  All tenant retention programs are different, but typically they include things like identifying the tenants, services and amenities provided, and methods to measure success.  The plan needs to be a formal written document that has defined objectives and measurable goals for each tenant involved.

Looking for more tips on gauging tenant satisfaction?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.