Do you have a way to easily get in touch with your tenants and communicate with them regularly?  Whatever your answer, tenant management software can help to streamline the process, lower costs, and get important information to your tenants with ease when they need it.  Recently, we witnessed a fire caused by a grill being improperly used on a wooden back porch.  Fortunately the apartment building didn’t burn down and no one was injured.  This fire could have been avoided if the tenant was aware of rules and regulations about the proper use of grills and had easy access to building rules and regulations such as using a grilling pad and having a fire extinguisher nearby.

Improvement #1:  Use Electronic Communication

The easiest and most cost effective way to get information to your tenants is through electronic communication.  Email is probably the most effective means of sending information since you can attach files and pictures and send directly to your tenants.  With 80% of households in the U.S. having access to the internet at home and work, it is a great way to get information our quickly.  Other new technologies such as text messaging can also be used to send out information rapidly, for example a text message can be sent to tenants when there is an emergency water shutoff at a building.  Contacting tenants by phone is also an option but is time consuming.  Some tenant management software programs support automated phone calls, such as for maintenance request appointment reminders.

Improvement #2: Use Your Property Management Website

Does your property management website allow you to post messages and documents for your tenants, and when they log in to pay rent, does your site allow you to display important information to them?  Since many tenants misplace the important documents they were given when they signed the lease, it is essential that your tenant management software have an online repository for information so that tenants can easily find, download, and print documents they need.  Also, your website should have a way to alert tenants to information such as through a pop-up notification or scrolling banner.  For example, a notification can pop up at the start of warm weather to remind tenants about grill use rules for your building.

Improvement #3:  On-Property Messaging

Do you list your website address or use QR codes on any communications you have at your properties, for example on building signs?  We have seen many property management companies list at least their website address on each building so that tenants and even renters looking for apartments can find your website.  If you manage larger buildings, having a TV monitor that displays important building information is also a great option to alert tenants to building news.  Of course, having a message board in a common area such as near a front entranceway is also a great way to provide tenants with information and is used most widely.  We suggest that any messages posted on message boards also link to your website for more information.

What is your strategy to get information to your tenants more timely and easily and how are you using tenant management software to do so?