How to Find and Keep Good Tenants

Write a Listing That Attracts the Right Applicants

Most vacancy problems start at the listing stage. A vague or poorly written ad attracts a high volume of unqualified inquiries and scares off serious renters who are comparing multiple properties at once. The goal is not maximum clicks but the right clicks.

Your listing should answer the questions tenants actually have before they pick up the phone. State the monthly rent, security deposit amount, lease term, pet policy, and any income or credit requirements upfront. High-quality photos of every room matter more than most landlords realize - a dark or blurry photo of a good unit will lose to a bright photo of an average one.

Post on Zillow, Zumper, Apartments.com, Facebook Marketplace, and Kijiji (for Canadian markets). Syndicating to multiple platforms at once, rather than posting manually to each, saves time and fills vacancies faster. Revun's property listing tools let you push one listing to major platforms from a single dashboard, so you spend less time copy-pasting and more time responding to strong leads.

• Include all financial requirements (rent, deposit, income threshold) in the first paragraph
• Use natural light and a wide-angle lens for photos - shoot during the day
• Mention transit, parking, and walkability scores - these drive search filtering
• Add a virtual tour or video walkthrough to cut down on unqualified showings

Screen Applicants with a Consistent, Legal Process

Tenant screening is where landlords either protect themselves or expose themselves to serious financial and legal risk. The key word is consistency: apply the same written criteria to every applicant. In the US, the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. Canadian provinces have equivalent human rights protections. Inconsistent screening criteria is the fastest way to face a complaint.

A solid screening process covers four areas: credit history, income verification, rental history, and criminal background (where permitted by local law). A general benchmark is gross monthly income at least 2.5 to 3 times the monthly rent, a credit score above 650, and no prior evictions within the past five years. Adjust thresholds for your market, put them in writing, and apply them uniformly.

Collecting applications, running credit checks, contacting previous landlords, and verifying employment manually is time-consuming and error-prone. Revun's tenant screening tools pull credit and background reports directly into the applicant record, so everything is in one place and you can make a decision faster. Faster decisions mean lower vacancy days.

• Write your qualification criteria down before you list - verbal standards are not defensible
• Always get written consent before running a credit or background check
• Call the previous landlord, not just the current one - current landlords sometimes give good references to move a problem tenant out
• Document your decision and the reasons in writing for every applicant you decline

Set the Right Tone From Day One

The move-in experience shapes how tenants treat your property and how they respond when something goes wrong. A disorganized move-in signals that you are a disorganized landlord. A smooth, professional one sets mutual expectations correctly from the start.

Conduct a move-in inspection with the tenant present and document every existing condition with photos and a signed checklist. This protects you at move-out and prevents disputes. Go through the lease together and make sure the tenant understands the rent due date, late fee policy, maintenance request process, and rules about alterations. A tenant who understands the rules from day one is far less likely to break them.

Provide a welcome packet with utility contact information, trash collection days, parking rules, and emergency maintenance contacts. Small gestures like this reduce the volume of basic questions you field in the first 30 days and communicate that you run a professional operation.

Respond Fast to Maintenance and Build Real Loyalty

The single biggest driver of tenant turnover is unresponsive maintenance. Tenants who wait two weeks for a broken heater to be fixed do not renew their lease. They also leave negative reviews that make your next vacancy harder to fill. Response time matters more than any rent discount you could offer.

Set a clear expectation in the lease: routine requests acknowledged within 24 hours and scheduled within 5 business days, emergencies addressed same day. Then actually meet that standard. A simple maintenance ticket system, even a shared inbox or a basic portal, is better than a phone call that gets forgotten.

Revun includes maintenance request tracking so tenants can submit requests with photos, you can assign vendors, and both parties can see status updates without a single phone call. For landlords managing more than a handful of units, this alone pays for the platform.

• Acknowledge every request in writing, even if the fix takes time
• Build a preferred vendor list before you need it - finding a plumber during a weekend emergency is expensive
• Follow up with the tenant after repairs are closed to confirm satisfaction

Reduce Turnover by Making Renewal Easy

Turnover is the hidden cost most landlords underestimate. Between vacancy days, cleaning, repairs, listing fees, and time spent screening new applicants, turning over a unit typically costs one to two months of rent even when nothing goes seriously wrong. Keeping a good tenant for another year is almost always the higher-return move.

Start the renewal conversation 60 to 90 days before the lease ends. If you plan to raise rent, lead with the value you have delivered: maintained the unit well, responded to requests quickly, kept common areas clean. A reasonable increase communicated early and respectfully is accepted far more often than the same increase delivered as a form letter 30 days before expiration.

Ask long-term tenants what would make them more comfortable staying. Sometimes the answer is a parking space, a small appliance upgrade, or permission to paint a wall. These concessions cost far less than a turnover. Good property management is a relationship business, and tenants who feel respected stay longer.

• Send renewal offers 60-90 days early - do not wait until 30 days out
• Document rent increase justifications (market comps, cost increases) in case the tenant pushes back
• Consider a small rent credit for tenants who sign a two-year lease
• Track renewal rates by unit and by year so you can identify patterns