Renting out residential properties is a good way to earn passive income, but it is not as easy as collecting rent. There are responsibilities that you are responsible for as a landlord. When these obligations aren’t met, it may affect your tenant’s intentions of staying. To find out how your tenants genuinely feel about your property, you would have to ask them yourself. The most effective way to do that is through a regular tenant survey.

What is in a Tenant Survey?

Like any other survey, you should only include questions about their stay there as a tenant. Ask about what they like about the property, where things could be better, how the facilities are treating them, and maybe even how pleased they are with their neighbours. To make data gathering easier, you can give a survey where they can rank things from one to five or something similar. And most importantly, provide them with the option to write comments.

Why You Should Hand Out Tenant Surveys

Feedback is Important

In some cases, you won’t know there’s a problem until you ask. As a landlord, you should be open to what people have to say and make the necessary changes to address them. When a good number of people complain about the same thing, you should fix it right away before the situation can escalate. After all, failure to do your responsibility as a landlord might have legal repercussions.

The Initiative Makes Tenants Feel Important

When tenants receive the opportunity to voice their concerns, it gives them the sense that you are serious about helping them. It makes them feel seen and lets them know that they can trust you to be on their side of things should a problem arise.

Keeping Tenants Happy Saves on Costs

If you ignore feedback or make no effort to get it, your tenants might not feel heard and find somewhere else where they feel welcome. You do not want tenants to leave prematurely. When someone leaves, you will need to find a replacement immediately to keep the money flowing. That takes time, effort, and more money to advertise online or print ads in the newspaper. 

However, if you manage to control the situation and fix any of your tenants’ problems, it keeps them happy, and they may change their minds about moving out. 

What to do with the Gathered Information

Once the surveys have been turned in, you can spot the common problems and solve those first. If there were any complaints about a neighbour, you could help them settle things by talking to them separately. If your feedback is nothing but positive, be proud! But that doesn’t mean that you stop handing these surveys out. Make them a regular occurrence so you can solve problems that may occur.

Conclusion

As a landlord, you don’t hold the same perspective as your tenants do. Getting their insights might give you an idea of how it’s like to live on the property. It might even help you improve things that bother them. The happier your tenants are, the longer they are likely to stay.

Managing your property may be difficult, especially if you have other commitments. To ease your burden, you might as well hire a professional residential property management firm in Ottawa. Fahel & Co is Ottowa’s most trusted property management firm in the area. We provide excellent services and take care of your property and tenants on your behalf. Contact us today!