How are you educating your landlords and tenants?
We talk a great deal about educating our teams. Training, mentoring, professional development and keeping up with changes across the industry are all important.
But I think there is another group we should be thinking about.
Our landlords and tenants.
Commercial property is complex. Those of us who work in the industry every day can easily forget that many of the things we consider routine are not necessarily understood by the people we represent or work with.
Rent reviews. Outgoings budgets and reconciliations. Lease obligations. Options and renewals. Maintenance responsibilities. Essential Safety Measures. Insurance requirements. Make good obligations. Critical dates. The list goes on.
We cannot assume that a landlord or tenant understands these things simply because they own or occupy commercial property. The more we educate the people we work with, the better the conversations become.
Expectations can be discussed earlier. Decisions can be better informed. Difficult conversations often become easier when people understand the background and reasoning. Problems may be identified earlier rather than being left until they become urgent.
Education does not have to mean running a seminar every month. It might be an annual landlord information evening. A short quarterly update. A simple explanation sent before a rent review. An outgoings guide for tenants. A conversation about lease obligations before an issue arises. Useful information shared when legislation or industry requirements change.
There are opportunities every day. The question is whether we are using them.
Property management is not simply about collecting rent, arranging repairs and sending reports. There is enormous value in helping landlords and tenants better understand the properties, leases and responsibilities they are dealing with.
So, perhaps this is a useful question for your next team meeting:
What are we doing to educate our landlords and tenants, and what could we be doing better?
I would be interested to hear what other agencies are doing.
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