According to the Southern California Rental Housing Association, San Diego needs at least another 12,000 homes to satisfy the current need for housing. That means there's a high demand for rental properties in the area.
Even though it's easier to find tenants than ever before, it's still preferable to get your existing tenants to renew their leases. This gives you peace of mind and saves you money on preparing your property for new tenants and on screening fees.
This is what every landlord needs to know about lease renewals in San Diego.
Lease Renewal Tips for Landlords
Unless you have the best tenants living in your investment property, you may not want to renew their lease. Here's how to tell if you should approach your current tenants about renewing their lease:
- Do they pay rent on time?
- Do they take diligent care of your property?
- Are they respectful toward the neighbors?
- Can they afford an increase in their rent?
If you decide to ask your tenants to stay on after their lease expires, you should let them know at least 90 days in advance. You can send this notification either via email, a letter, or in person.
This gives you enough time to find a new tenant if they decline the offer.
How to Encourage Lease Renewals
People rarely decide to move on a whim, so if your tenant's lease expires within the next few months, and they haven't heard from you, they've probably started looking around.
If you want your tenants to stay, it's best to start renter retention efforts early on.
When you treat your tenants well and keep the lines of communication open, you've got a much better chance they'll stay on at the end of their lease. Contact them regularly throughout their tenancy, and act on any suggestions they might have.
Stay on top of your property maintenance with regular property inspections, so your tenants know you're committed to their comfort and well-being.
Where possible, improve your services using the latest innovations. For instance, you can implement smart home devices or simply set up an online rent payment portal for their convenience.
All homes need regular upgrades to things like paint and roofing. Make sure you stay up to date with yours.
As an incentive, you can offer to keep the rent the same for a year or two instead of implementing an annual increase. With rents soaring across San Diego, this is an attractive option for any renter.
Getting the Best Out of Your Rental Property
By far the best way to encourage lease renewals is by hiring a property manager to ensure tenant satisfaction throughout their stay. Property management services will take care of your property maintenance issues and manage tenant relations.
If your tenants decide to move on regardless, a property management team will find you someone new as fast as possible.
For the last eighteen years, we've been helping both established and new landlords across San Diego maximize their investment properties. Get in touch to discover how we can help you.
