It can be difficult to maintain quality relationships with your renters during any kind of crisis. Whether its roots are economic, viral, environmental, or sociopolitical, conflict can erupt due to many circumstances. No matter how you slice it, the strain on any relationship will be real. When you have a condo for rent in D.C., it is pivotal to take action to try and keep the relationship you have with your renters strong and secure.
The more effort you dedicate to this relationship ahead of the crisis, the easier it will be to work through it when changes wrack our community. Keeping your tenants in good spirits and well-informed does more than benefit your bottom line during lease renewals: it creates a stabilizing effect on the community your condo is a part of.
When your residents feel like you care about their well being, they're more likely to feel at home in your condo—and they're also more likely to care for it wholeheartedly as if it were their own.
Show Compassion to Your Renters
The first step towards maintaining a quality relationship as a landlord with your tenants is to show compassion. The last thing that tenants will want when they are going through a crisis is to be hit hard with a cold communiqué. You need to be honest, genuine, and professional—but you also have to show compassion, show that you care, and highlight how you want to help them get through what you're facing as a group.
When you decide to approach conversations from a place of compassion, it can support fundamental tasks you have to manage as a property owner (such as rent collection). It also inspires your residents to take better care of your property, and be more supportive of your position as the property owner. Showing compassion is crucial for maintaining a great relationship between you and your renter when you have a condo for rent in D.C.
Once You Start, Maintain Steam
The last thing you want to do when it comes to any crisis is to stop communicating with your tenants. However, you also want the contact you have with your renters to be organic.
If you don't have anything relevant to contribute, don't feel forced to communicate. Instead, use the communication opportunities you do have to share vital information and investigate how your renters are adapting to changes. Invite feedback and see if there are ways you can make their stay more comfortable (if you are able). Often, these small touches create an unforgettable renting experience that can inspire your renters to renew their lease.
Cooperation Is Key
Encouraging cooperation between you and your renter during this time is vital to maintaining a safe and healthy home and sustainable income. A renter and landlord relationship is one that should benefit both parties. However, it will only provide those benefits when you both work towards the common goal. The advantage of encouraging your renters to participate in this actively is that the results will be long-lasting and may even yield some feedback that is advantageous for you.
Enforce Appropriate Rules—Within Reason
Every property owner has their own set of rules for how they expect their rental operation to run; generally, these are delineated by your lease agreement. For the safety of others in your building when you have a condo for rent in D.C., these need to be upheld—even when there is a crisis.
Enforcement of the rules within reason is all about doing what makes sense at the moment within the boundaries of your lease. If you are showing cooperation, compassion, and keeping up with your communication, you will know the state of your rental property and the renter within it. This means you should also have an innate understanding of which components of your lease need enforcing at any given time.
For example: while you're working on payment plans or abstaining from charging late fees on late rent, you may still need to enforce certain community guidelines should your renters violate other portions of the lease. It's at your discretion to implement such rules—as long as you are operating within the law.
You Don't Have to Navigate Uncertain Waters Alone
Mastering interpersonal relationships is an art and a science. If this doesn't happen to be your forté as a property owner, it's not too late to build excellent communication with your renters! There's never been a better time to begin working on this. However, you can also rely on the experts in Washington D.C. property care when you call on EJF Real Estate Services. We have roots in this community, and we know how to interact with its residents from an approach that is both respectful and professional.
That's not the only element of a rental property we manage for you, either! If you've been struggling to get a firm grasp of how to manage rent collection under the new guidelines mandated by the D.C. Council, we're here to guide you. You can access our insight for free when you download your copy of our Collecting Rent in a Crisis Handbook.
