Lease renewals reduce turnover costs and often bring a bump in rent—both good things. If you are using a form letter to communicate about lease renewals, consider personalizing this communication to potentially keep more residents from packing up and moving out.
In a post on Property Management Minutes, Lori Hammond suggests including the following information in renewal letters: expiration date of the current lease, lease holders’ names, and fees included in the current rent (pets, parking or storage).
If the resident is receiving a rent concession, Hammond stresses the importance of spelling this out in the letter. For example, tell the resident how much the current monthly concession is and the amount the resident saved on rent over the past year because of the concession.
Hammond also suggests rewarding residents who always pay rent on time with discounted lease renewal rates or an apartment upgrade. And be sure to spell out the monthly and annual savings of any proposed concessions compared with current market rent.