Yeehlow

If not given due consideration, communications between tenants and landlords can often become a source of worries, misunderstandings and mistakes that eventually lead to the deterioration of a renting experience. Imagine how beautiful things would be if only your landlord fixed that broken tap straight away, or if tenants did the separate collection properly!

In Knights Franks Tenants’ Survey for 2015-2016 data speak for themselves: when asked “What are the most important qualities for a good property manager?” 50% of respondent ranked “Responds to any queries within 24 hours” at the first place, followed by “Straight-forward/honest with tenants” (48%) and “Easily contactable via phone/e-mail” (47%). Results were very similar among different age groups and regions, confirming that the need for good communication skills is a top priority in the UK property and rental market.

Yeehlow organised an online survey on the topic. When asked “Do you think your landlord communicates well with you?” 80% of respondents answered “Not really” instead of “Yes!.” This is a further indication of the fact that, when renting a property, communications between the two parts are often disregarded.

Being responsive to duties and requests is fundamental both for renters and property owners. When it comes to logging repair requests, 36% of Knight Frank’s respondents still communicate via email: a good method which can nonetheless turn out to be insufficiently responsive. 35% of tenants prefer picking up the phone and 25% rely on online platforms like Yeehlow.com.

In order to make the communicative process easier it could be a good idea to set clear rules since the very beginning of the tenancy: decide the exact day for paying the rent (end or start of the month? Only weekdays?), the payment methods and the exact amount.

Furthermore, it’s important that both tenants and landlords have each other contacts always updated and at hand, and that they know when would be the best time to have a chat.

Another good move is to store both physical and digital copies of all the rental documents in a place that is easily accessible whenever necessary. Building a good relationship with other tenants can also have a positive impact on the general renting experience, making it easier to talk about problems and find solutions together.

Are you satisfied with the way you communicate with your landlord or tenants? Tell us more at Yeehlow.com?