Should you offer your tenants a resident benefits package? As time goes on, they are becoming more and more popular in the world of rental properties, and for good reason!
There are many things that you can gain as a landlord when you offer your tenants a resident benefits package. By offering a variety of services for a small additional fee, your tenants may be more likely to stay at your rental property long-term.
If you’re curious about what to include in your resident benefits package and how to introduce one to your tenants, keep reading!
What is a Resident Benefit Package?
A resident benefit package is a way to offer tenants additional services, like HVAC delivery, replacement insurance or renters insurance, in return for a small monthly fee.
Obviously, benefits packages are excellent for your tenants. For a relatively small fee, they get to enjoy services that they would otherwise have to use time, energy, and money to do themselves.
However, it’s not only the tenants who benefit from this offer. As a landlord, offering a benefits package to your tenants can have many positive effects on your business.
Why a Tenant Benefit Package is a Good Idea
Find out more below on the three main factors that make offering a benefits package a great idea for landlords.
1. Increase Your Income
By offering a benefits package to your tenants, you have an opportunity to increase the amount of revenue that you receive from your rental properties. With the fees that are associated with extra services, it’s an excellent way to increase your property management income.
2. Decrease Your Workload
When you offer certain benefits, you can reduce the amount of work that is needed from you. For example, by providing an online resident portal, you can streamline communications, online rent payments and maintenance requests conveniently to one place.
You can finally spend less time sorting through emails and answering phone calls. Plus, you can address maintenance requests easily, spending less time sorting through paperwork.
3. Decrease Your Tenant Turnover and Vacancy Rates
Providing resident benefits packages can help your tenants feel more content living in your rental property. The services provided by these packages can be simple or complex.
If the services that you offer your tenants are valuable, like changing an HVAC filter or managing their utilities, they are more likely to stay long-term. Having a long-term tenant occupy your property is the best way to reduce your vacancies and maintain a steady stream of income.
Additionally, mention the resident benefits program that you offer when listing and marketing your property. This will attract more prospective tenants and help you to fill any vacancies that you may have as soon as possible.
Resident Benefits Package: What to Include
As long as you remain realistic about what you are able to provide for your tenants, there are many creative ways to increase the desirability of your benefits package.
However, there are some common services that tenants tend to gravitate towards.
The following is a list of common benefits offered in packages by landlords and property managers:
- HVAC filters: You can subscribe to a service that automatically delivers HVAC filters as regularly as you need. Then you can change out the filter for your residents. Cover the cost of the service and earn some extra income by charging tenants a small fee.
- Refrigerator filters: Similarly to HVAC systems, there are services that you can hire to automatically deliver refrigerator filters. You can ask for a fee in return for ordering and replacing the filters.
- Virtual concierge: A virtual concierge can help your tenants with a variety of services including keyless entry to the unit, receipts, and booking for restaurants and events.
- Tenant portal: By providing a tenant portal, you can allow your tenants to pay their rent, store documents related to the rental home, send messages, and get access to any information about the property that they may need.
- 24/7 maintenance requests: Provide a portal specifically for maintenance requests that is available for 24/7 assistance.
- Utility management: Allow your tenants to combine all their utility and rent payments into one so they can always ensure that they are staying up to date on bills.
- Renters insurance: By offering tenants renters insurance, they can be covered for any damage or liability involved with the rental property.
When it comes to benefit packages, there are endless combinations. You can keep the package simple by only offering HVAC services and renters insurance, or you can get creative and offer dog walking or cleaning services.
The services you choose to offer will largely depend on the population of your tenants, and what you believe will be the most effective when it comes to their specific needs.
How to Implement a Residential Benefit Package
When it comes to implementing a new benefits package, communication and timing are crucial. Your current tenants should be aware of every stage in the process of introducing a new benefits package.
Conduct a poll to determine what kinds of services they would like to use. Communicate to them which ones you are thinking of implementing and what your planned timeline is for introducing these benefits. Tell them when the services will be available, how much the fee will cost them, and whether or not the fee will be mandatory.
For new tenants, clearly explain the package you can implement in both the marketing phase and the lease agreement.
Resident Benefits Package Mistakes to Avoid
Now that you know what you can offer in a benefits package and how you can offer it to your tenants, you can think about how to avoid common landlord mistakes regarding these services.
Here are some common mistakes landlords make:
1. Unfair Pricing
Regardless of what services you are offering and how helpful they may be to your tenants, they will not want to pay too much for a benefits package. Generally, these packages shouldn’t be over $50 a month. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that you should never offer services that you cannot cover the cost of.
2. Undesirable Services
If the services that you offer your tenants are not useful to them, they will not want to pay extra to be able to access them. That’s why it is crucial to communicate with your tenants and find out what kinds of services they would like most.
3. Poor Communication
If you decide to offer a new benefits package to your residents, then it’s very important to communicate all the services and costs. When you have new tenants, include the benefits package and its price in the lease agreement.
Additionally, ensure that all tenants are aware of your policies regarding the choice to opt out of the benefits package. If you charge all tenants for the package regardless of whether or not they use it, then communicate this upfront.
Bottom Line
Creating a benefits package for your tenants can help keep everyone happy. They’ll be offered extra useful services, and you can bring in a little extra cash and positive reviews.
