11 Resident Retention Ideas for Your NYC Apartment

Resident retention is vital for any successful NYC apartment complex. The longer you keep tenants, the more money your property will earn and save long-term. While you can’t retain tenants forever, you should aim for the longest resident retention possible.

Our experts at NYC Apartment Management are here to share helpful resident retention ideas for your multifamily community.

1. Build Relationships With Every Resident

Some property owners make the mistake of treating tenants like bank payments. Why make more effort once they’re locked into their lease? If you ignore your current residents’ needs, it will harm other prospects and lower your resident retention.

People want to be valued. Small acts of kindness and friendly gestures greatly improves retention rates. Most tenants will appreciate someone going out of their way to say hello or lend a hand.

For each new resident, why not give a small welcome gift as a friendly gesture? Making scheduled visits to address their needs is also a good idea and helps with resident retention.

2. Maintain Open Lines of Communication

Absent property management lowers resident satisfaction. When tenants reach out, it’s your job to be open and responsive.

Ideally, tenants should be able to call, email, or directly reach your office without hassle. Creating a survey or directly asking for feedback is also helpful. This will make residents feel involved with growing the community.

3. Create a Digital Space for Your Business

Most people in this day and age have internet access. By creating a website for your business, you can tap into a bigger pool of prospective tenants. Think of it as your apartment’s digital office. It should look good, load fast, and be mobile-friendly.

Social media is also a good place for marketing your NYC rooms. When you actively connect, engage, and inspire online, you can boost your resident retention without spending big bucks. Use technology to:

  • Share useful news
  • Offer easy recipes
  • Highlight upcoming events
  • Host contests

With online marketing, you can turn into a valued and trusted resource to attract residents and boost your retention rate.

4. Create an App for Your Community

Why not develop an app to take your residents’ digital experience to the next level? Not many properties offer this perk, so it can set you apart from the competition and encourage resident retention. You can use the app to improve many aspects of apartment living, like:

  • Paying rent
  • Reading community updates
  • Receiving maintenance alerts
  • Messaging apartment managers and fellow tenants

5. Focus on Property Security

Property crimes remain a pressing concern in New York. So it’s up to you to keep your multifamily community secure. If tenants don’t feel safe in their homes, they likely won’t request a lease renewal.

Here are some security tips that can help lower resident turnover:

  • Install fences and gates around the complex
  • Implement 24/7 monitoring technology
  • Retain guards to monitor the entrance or patrol the grounds
  • Use key cards, fobs, and other smart tech for each resident’s unit
  • Create an online message board for sharing concerns with the property management team

6. Build a Sense of Community With Resident Events

You’re more likely to have high resident retention if people are close to their neighbors. As property management, you can plan simple events to foster a sense of community. Here are some functions where each resident can get to know each other and form a fun bond:

  • Gift-giving event
  • Welcome event
  • Holiday event
  • Birthday party

What if social distancing measures are in place and you can’t have real-life meetups? Hosting resident events in a virtual setting is still an option. Some ideas include movie nights, book readings, yoga sessions, and more! When hosting events for your community, a manager should always follow the city’s safety guidelines.

7. Ensure Every Resident Has Parking

Parking is a leading pain point for renters, especially in crowded urban settings like New York. Nothing is more frustrating than looking for parking after a long day of work. If you’re looking for ways to improve your complex and have high resident retention, adding ample parking can go a long way.

Some ways you can go about this include:

  • building multi-level parking
  • Having parking spaces doubled in length for tenants with more than one vehicle
  • Partner with nearby lots or garages to provide tenants with parking deals

8. Apartment Maintenance Is Key To Resident Retention

Don’t neglect maintenance requests if you want to raise your resident lease renewal. When a tenant’s issues remain ignored, they may decide to move elsewhere. You can apply many effective strategies to lower the costs while keeping your spaces well-maintained.

9. Renovate Older Units

New residents will eventually grow tired of the flaws they may have overlooked before. If you’ve been receiving too many structural complaints, it might be a sign to renovate or risk lowering your resident retention. Some tips for improving older multifamily apartment units include:

  • Applying a fresh coat of paint
  • Installing new light fixtures
  • Adding more storage
  • Upgrading kitchen hardware
  • Replacing bathroom fixtures

Renovations might be a big investment, but the returns are worth it in the long run. The right improvements add value back to your apartment so you can attract and retain more tenants.

10. Establish a Resident Referral Program

Even if you’ve fostered an inviting community, some residents might need more incentives to recruit their friends. You can give incentives for referrals in the form of rent credits, gift cards, or cash.

Many companies offer “gamifying” apps that can encourage tenants even further while raising your brand awareness. These programs let renters complete tasks to earn points and exchange them for rewards.

11. Get Good Property Management

The bottom line is that keeping your tenants is no easy feat, but our resident retention ideas can make the process easier. On top of this, property managers also have other daily duties to perform–and we’re here to help with the heavy lifting.

The NYC Apartment Management team will streamline your maintenance process and take your tenant retention to the next level. Our apartment managers will put in great effort to develop a package for your property that ensures complete satisfaction.

Read our blog for more top tips, or call us today to learn more about our service!