How to Use Feedback from Departing Tenants

Running a rental property can be a challenging undertaking. You’ve got to balance profitability with tenants’ needs and wishes. That said, feedback from those already living in your rental properties is an essential tool to help you understand what’s going on. Thankfully, feedback from departing tenants can be especially valuable.

What Can You Learn From Departing Tenant Feedback?

Feedback from departing tenants can tell you a lot about not only their individual experience but also how things are in your rental property in general. Such feedback can give you a taste of what tenant life is like in your building and highlight any issues that need attention. In particular, departing tenant feedback is typically:

Honest

Unlike tenants who are still active on a lease, those leaving the property don’t have anything to lose or gain by giving honest feedback. That means they’re usually more pressing and candid when it comes to describing their experience.

Detailed

Since departing tenants don’t have to worry about repercussions, they tend to give more detailed feedback. Such feedback can provide valuable insights into the little things that may be driving away tenants.

Actionable

Departing tenants aren’t just giving you problems; they’re also asking for solutions. While they may not always offer solutions themselves, the very nature of departing tenant feedback invites you to take action. You can put theory into practice and implement fixes that keep tenant satisfaction and returns high.

How to Gather Feedback From Departing Tenants

Once you’ve wrapped your head around what valuable information departing tenant feedback can provide, it’s time to figure out how to collect it. Doing so is key since leaving tenants can be hard to pin down and are usually preoccupied with moving things out and sorting out final administration. Here are some of the best ways to do so.

Laptop Surveys

Giving a laptop survey to departing tenants is one of the best ways to capture feedback. Open-ended questions that are phrased correctly, such as “Please indicate your overall experience of living in our apartment building,” are the key here.

Thank-You Cards and Notes

Expressing gratitude to tenants, even after they’ve vacated the property, can do wonders. You can go one step further by tucking a few survey questions into them. You can also provide tenants with the same survey via email and use it as an automation tool.

Reviews

Asking departing tenants for reviews is a great way to capture feedback. Reviews can be great social proof for potential tenants but can also highlight areas that need improvement. Use tools like Yelp to ensure tenants who haven’t yet left can also join in.

Hold Departure Meetings

Finally, you can also host departure meetings with tenants who are leaving to give them one final opportunity to provide personal feedback. Such meetings usually involve some face-to-face time and allow you to troubleshoot any last-minute issues that departing tenants might have.

Using Departing Tenant Feedback

So, you’ve managed to capture departing tenant feedback and start to recognize areas you need to improve in, but what next? Here are some ideas to put departing tenant feedback to good use:

Improve Documentation

Use departing tenant feedback as a way to refine or overhaul documentation. Having organized and clear documents can help future tenants avoid confused and complaint-filled situations.

Make Improvements

Review the feedback and find ways to make improvements that show tenant satisfaction is a priority. Such changes don’t always need to cost a fortune.

Remind Current Tenants

When issuing final bills and paperwork to current tenants, include reminders about the possibility of providing feedback upon departure.

Train Staff

Finally, comb through the feedback and use what you learn to give necessary review to any staff involved in the tenant’s renting experience.

The Bottom Line

Getting feedback from departing tenants is invaluable. It gives you an inside look into the rental experience they had and sheds light on areas that might need improvement. Take the time to solicit annual feedback, capture it using available tools, and use it to refine both the experience and documentation of current tenants. Have you had a positive experience gathering feedback from departing tenants? Let us know in the comments below!

Conclusion

Gathering and using feedback from departing tenants is a great way to stay on top of tenant experience and satisfaction in a rental property. It can help you get an honest impression of the tenant experience, identify issues, and make improvements. Furthermore, departing tenants provide detailed feedback that includes actionable solutions. So, be sure to tap into departing tenants’ experience by making use of laptop surveys, thank-you cards, reviews, and departure meetings. Once you’ve got the feedback, use it to improve documentation, make necessary improvements, train staff, and remind current tenants. All in all, use feedback from departing tenants to stay ahead of any rental property issues!

Q: What questions should be asked in a tenant exit survey?

1. How satisfied were you in terms of the condition of the property when you moved in to the property?

2. How satisfied were you with the condition of the property when you left?

3. How satisfied were you with the responsiveness of the landlord or property management company to your requests throughout your tenancy?

4. How satisfied were you with the process of returning your security deposit?

5. Did you ever encounter any major issues while living at the property that weren’t adequately addressed?

6. Would you recommend this property as a place to live to other potential tenants?

7. What is the primary reason for relocation?

8. Are there any areas you think could have been improved during your tenancy?

9. How likely would you be to rent through the same landlord/property management company in the future?

10. Do you have any other comments, feedback, or suggestions you’d like to share?

Q: What types of information should be collected in a tenant exit survey?

A: A tenant exit survey should collect information on the tenant’s overall satisfaction with the units, amenities, building, and staff, as well as details about the tenant’s move like date of move out, if they intend to renew their lease, reason for move, and feedback about what could have been done better. Additionally, surveys should collect more specific information on how the tenant rate several aspects of their experience, such as cleanliness of the unit, responsiveness of maintenance requests, and quality of customer service. Finally, questions should be asked to better understand why the tenant chose not to renew their lease, what recommendations they would make, if they would recommend the building to others, and how their overall satisfaction could have been improved.

Q: What questions should be asked in a tenant exit survey?

1. What was your overall experience of living at this property?

2. How satisfied were you with the apartment/house, facilities, and services offered?

3. How was your experience with the staff and management?

4. What were the primary reasons for choosing to move out?

5. What suggestions do you have for improving the overall tenant experience?

6. Did you have any maintenance or repair issues during your tenancy?

7. Would you recommend this property to other potential tenants?

8. Please provide a brief description of your overall experience living at this property.