The Tenant Experience and Why It Matters

Tenant experience is the most important phrase most landlords don’t use. However, it is a key part of a successful rental agreement that benefits both parties.

What Exactly Is the Tenant Experience?

This looks at how tenants experience all aspects pertaining to the property they are renting. 

It primarily revolves around how problems like maintenance issues, pest control, and general upkeep are dealt with to ensure adequate living conditions.

If there are unresolved issues with the property or a lack of communication between landlord and tenant, the relationship will break down and tenants will likely leave or be dissatisfied.

Key areas which can cause problems and lack of tenant engagement include:

❌ Lack of care for the property. 

❌ Under-reporting of problems.

❌ Poor communication. 

Why Is the Tenant Experience so Important?

Tenant experience is a key part of a successful rental agreement that benefits both parties. However, many landlords don’t pay enough attention to it.

As a landlord, you need to think of your tenant as a customer. You are providing a service to them, and they are paying you for it.

Ensuring that tenants have a good tenant experience should be a high priority for landlords.

Why Should Landlords and Property Owners Care?

The landlord/tenant relationship is important, whether you own commercial real estate or properties people can live in.

Most landlords find the role challenging as their investment has created a lot of work and unwanted stress. This can result in a lack of focus on the tenant experience.

If the landlord does a bad job, it can end with tenants leaving. The process to then find new tenants is time consuming and costly.

A successful relationship with your tenant provides you with peace of mind that the property is being cared for.

To reduce stress and ensure an increased return on your investment, landlords should strive to make the tenant experience positive.

A recent study by Cushman and Wakefield showed that 67% of renters had moved due to bad property management or customer experience.

What Does a Good TeX Experience Look Like and How Can It Be Achieved?

It’s about doing the basics well. Let the tenant know they can come to you if needed and that you value their experience.

As a landlord, it is imperative you have put the right processes in place to easily report and fix any issues relating to the maintenance of your property.

Stressed tenants who are trying to call you about a broken boiler when you are busy in a meeting will soon become frustrated.

To move past this antiquated process, moving to digital allows for a better, mutually beneficial solution.

Why Tenant Experience Software Is the Solution That Matters

The world is digital, and understandably tenants want to incorporate issue reporting into their online space.

Modern tenants, millennials in particular, are used to the convenience of digital solutions.

They appreciate the smoothness of booking an Uber ride or a Just Eat delivery and want the same when it comes to fixing issues.

Tenants are expecting more from their landlords, so landlords need to keep up with the digital curve.

This is made more difficult by an existing communication gap between landlords and tenants which means they’re often not on the same page.

That’s why using a simple, straightforward tenant experience platform is the answer.

Not only does this give you a competitive advantage over other property owners, but it also helps you to attract and retain tenants.

Here are a few more benefits of using tenant experience apps and digital solutions.

Digital solutions help to improve communication

Using technology gives tenants and landlords a platform to communicate effectively, with the following benefits. A tenant experience platform is:

✅ Easy to access.

✅ Useful for storing information centrally. 

✅ Eliminates unnecessary calls and emails.

✅ Centralises visitor management and service requests.

This can help tenants interact with landlords and file maintenance requests with ease, improving the overall process of property management.

Digital solutions make reporting issues simple 

When an issue arises, reporting needs to be quick, simple, and accurate. Normally it isn’t, as four parties are involved in sorting out an issue:

• Landlords.
• Tenants.
• Agents. 
• Contractors. 

If the reporting is complicated, then it is likely the resolution will be too.

Reporting and resolving the issue has to be easy, and digital, smart solutions provide this. Here’s how:

✅ The actual reporting is easy to do using a smartphone. 

✅ Details and pictures can be added.

✅ The issue can be identified. 

✅ The right tradesperson can be engaged & given the necessary information.

✅ Everyone can follow the progress. 

✅ No one is waiting on calls.

✅ The tenant experience (and landlord experience) is positive.

Digital solutions may improve asset value

Whether you own a commercial building or other property, managing it well is essential. But it can be difficult to do this if you don’t know what’s going on at your property.

That’s why using digital solutions answers any property management challenges you’re facing. 

These platforms connect tenants directly with their landlords and enable the landlord to deal with problems quickly and efficiently.

As we’ve mentioned before, effective communication is key for tenant retention.

Digital solutions also help landlords keep track of everything they’ve done to improve the property for their current tenants.

If you ever wish to sell your property, these records will be helpful for generating a selling price.

How Can Landlords Put This into Action?

The key to successfully integrating digital is to use an app that provides a high-quality experience for all parties.

At Evo, the experience of the user is paramount. We have created a platform that is easy to use, allowing issues to be reported in less than 30 seconds.

How Does Evo Work?

Evo is a unique platform that helps improve your property management process and overall tenant satisfaction.

Problems can easily be reported using photos on the EVO app. Issues are then matched with a suitable tradesperson for the job. 

Our technology enables tenants to manage their repair appointments with accredited tradespeople through their smartphones.

As landlords and property managers, you decide your level of involvement.

The Evo dashboard provides full visibility of your property’s service history and helps you ensure compliance checks are carried out on time and are fully recorded.

This means no panicked phone calls, no scrambling around for tradespeople, no missed checks, and no disgruntled tenants.

The tenant experience is important as it directly impacts the landlord’s experience. And vice versa.

It’s an intricate relationship that can run smoothly, but only with the right processes and technology in place.

Watch our explainer video here for more information.

Contact one of our friendly staff to help you get started today.