Leasing your York rental property is a great way to give yourself a consistent income you can learn to rely on, so long as you place tenants in your investment that care for your property and pay their rent each month.
Adding to that, finding tenants that want to renew their lease renewals with you each year offers even more stability when it comes to your rental property business.
Though you can’t prevent some of the reasons people move (such as marriages or divorces, the addition of children, or job relocations), you can help keep those that want to remain in the area stay in your rental property with airtight lease renewals.
Today we will guide you through what it takes to secure a lease renewal for your York rental property so your current tenants can stay happily where they’re at, and you can continue to generate some income.
Tips to Increase Lease Renewals in Your York, PA Rental Property
For any tenancy in Pennsylvania that will last 12 months or longer, a written rental agreement signed by all parties is required.
The same holds true for lease renewals.
And, if you happen to lease your property for shorter terms, it is recommended that you still have a written lease agreement in place as a way to protect yourself, whether it is a renewal or not.
That said, Pennsylvania property owners are not required to include specific language regarding lease renewals in their original lease agreements.
This means you might consider adding the following provisions:
- Automatic Lease Renewal. You might consider adding an automatic lease renewal clause in your original lease so that satisfied tenants can easily renew at the end of their term. Make sure to include what kind of notice either you or the tenant must give should either party not want the lease to renew.
- Lease Terms. Make sure to include whether a lease renewal with you will be for a full term, a shorter term, or on a month-to-month basis so your tenants can prepare accordingly.
- Rent Increase. Though not required, it is a good idea to at least mention the possibility of a rent increase at lease renewal time so there are no surprises.
Most importantly, make sure that the lease renewal provisions you include in your original lease with a tenant are separate from the current agreement so there is no confusion.
You tenants should agree to every lease clause you have in your agreement, and sign affirming they fully understand.
In order to prevent any disputes later on, you should always have your York property manager go over the lease agreement in full with tenants, paying close attention to details such as the lease renewal process.
How to Get More Lease Renewals for Your Income Property
Recognizing the value of good tenants is a skill all property owners and their property managers should master.
After all, the price of placing new tenants in your rental every time a lease term ends can become very costly, even if every tenant you place is high quality and pays their rent on time.
Not to mention, placing bad tenants in your property is likely to reveal issues such as:
- Late, partial, or non-payments of rent
- Constant complaints and demands
- Damaged property and lease provision violations
- Complaints from neighbors for noise and other disruptions
- Refusals to vacate
- Lengthy, and costly, evictions
Finding the right tenants for your York rental is how you will become successful in your rental property business. And, if you employ the best property management company York has to offer, there is no reason why you can’t place high quality tenants that want to renew in the first place.
Let’s check out some of the best ways you can encourage your current tenants to renew their lease with you at the end of their tenancy.
1. Be a Good Landlord
If you want your tenants to sign a lease renewal with you after having lived an entire lease term under your care, you need to be a good landlord.
This includes handling repairs and maintenance requests in a timely manner, being friendly with your tenants, employing a qualified property management company in York, PA that prioritizes the needs of your tenants, and even upgrading things in your property as a bonus for being good tenants that want to renew.
2. Be Proactive
The key to getting your tenants to sign a lease renewal, if you don’t have an automatic renewal clause in the original lease agreement, is to be proactive.
Offer the renewal, and any new renewals terms (including rent increases), to your tenants well in advance. Chances are they are aware the end of the term is coming up, and want to know if you are going to offer them a lease renewal. This way if you don’t, they can begin the process of finding somewhere else to live.
If, on the other hand, you do offer them a renewal, your tenants will want to make sure they can (or want to) afford a rent increase if you have bumped up the rate.
Plus, they might have ideas of their own when it comes to the new lease agreement that include provisions such as allowing a pet into the property, making specific upgrades or renovations, or even providing some wiggle room when it comes to temporary interior decorations.
All of these things should be handled long before the lease term ends to eliminate unnecessary stress.
3. Reward Your Tenants
As tempting as it may be to increase the monthly rent rate every time a new lease terms rolls around, your York, PA property management company will likely advise you against it if you are offering a renewal to existing tenants.
The point is to encourage tenants to stay, not drive them away to your competitors that are offering lower monthly rent rates. Plus, rewarding your tenants for being good throughout their lease term by way of not increasing the rent is a great strategy.
Sure, you can probably find new tenants willing to pay the increased amount.
But at what cost?
You never know how long your property will sit vacant before finding such tenants, and there is never a guarantee they will be high quality tenants that don’t cause problems.
When you have good tenants in your property, aim to keep them as long as possible. In the end, you’ll end up generating more revenue thanks to the consistency. Plus, you’ll have the peace of mind that your investment property is being well cared for.
Other ways to entice tenants to renew their lease with you include:
- A one month rent discount if you must raise the rent rate
- A security deposit repayment plan for on-time rent payments throughout the duration of the lease term
- Landscaping services for better curb appeal, utility coverage such as cable or Wi-Fi, or even upgraded appliances to newer, energy efficient ones
The goal here is to convince your current tenants that going elsewhere to live is not going to be better than signing a lease renewal with you.
In Closing
It always best to try to get your good tenants to renew their lease agreements with you each year.
Not only will this save you lots of time and money, it will ensure your investment property is not being damaged, that your rent is being paid each month, and that your tenants are truly satisfied with living in your rental. After all, if they weren’t happy, they wouldn’t renew.
If you own rental property in York County and want help with giving your tenants the best experience possible while leasing from you, contact York H-G Properties today. Not only can we help place the best tenants possible in your rentals, we can help manage your property so that your tenants never have a complaint and want to remain in your rental as long as possible.
