13 of the Best Apartment Resident Retention Ideas

Keeping a satisfied resident at your apartment community is just as important as getting a new one. Resident retention builds long-term relationships with your community and also adds incredible value to the apartment property itself. 

It’s great to see new faces, but recurring residents are an invaluable asset to any apartment community because they’re the ones who understand what day-to-day living is like in your community, so their testimonies speak volumes. 

Even with the evolving needs of residents, resident retention is still very attainable. There’s massive potential in spending just as much time and effort in retaining current residents as there is in looking for prospective renters, so we came up with a helpful list of 13 attainable apartment retention ideas!

1. Keep Open Lines of Communication

Communication is key in so many situations, and the same holds true for the relationship between a resident and their property management team. 

Make it clear to residents that they have various ways of contacting you easily by giving them the option to call, email, send a text message, or stop by the leasing office to talk face-to-face.

When residents do reach out, be responsive and open to what they have to say! An uncommunicative leasing agent or property manager can quickly sour a resident’s attitude about their apartment community and greatly influence their decision to renew at the end of their leasing contract.

2. Seamless Move-In

Positive move-in experiences can boost residents’ first impressions at their new home and increase resident retention. 

Anticipate your resident’s every need during stressful move-in times and offer them a moving checklist to help them stay organized. Even small gestures like welcome gifts containing a gift card to a popular local restaurant or a nearby grocery store can let your residents know you’re making an effort to help them settle into their new home. 

By showing your sincerity and making a good first impression at the start of your resident’s life at your apartment community, you’ll be on track to earning long-term trust and loyalty.

5. Provide Community Spaces

Along the same lines of building relationships, it’s important to provide spaces where residents can connect and get to know one another. 

A stronger community leads to stronger retention rates and for this reason, it’s critical that apartment communities provide amenities that people can bond over. 

A fitness center can allow future workout buddies to meet, a media room can draw in a crowd to watch a Friday night movie, and an outdoor tennis court can spark some fun competition between neighbors. Those same community spaces can then be turned into places that host community events for residents, which we’ll talk more about in number 6.

6. Host Community Events

Resident relationships can also be facilitated by hosting fun community events to foster engagement and build a more social community. Not only are you creating an enjoyable time for residents, you’re giving them an experience and fun culture that will be hard to let go of when it’s renewal time.

From trivia/game nights, to movie nights, to holiday parties, to karaoke nights, to complimentary fitness classes, the possibilities for engaging community events are endless. 

By building a true apartment community for your residents, you’re creating a warm and friendly place to live that they won’t want to leave. 



7. Create a Social Media Community

From Facebook, to Instagram, to Twitter, there are various social platforms you can use to connect with your residents on another level. Residents may miss updates and upcoming community events, but social media can be used to keep them in the loop and remind them why where they live is the best. 

If there was a recent community event, highlight the best moments and post it to your community’s social platforms. If your property recently won an award or refreshed amenity spaces, you should absolutely be sharing the news! 

There’s also the opportunity to do a little bragging about your property, whether it’s showing off apartment interiors or highlighting modern amenities. Current residents can take greater pride in living at your property and potential renters can be attracted to what you share about your community online as well. 

8. Send Resident Newsletters

Newsletters are another great way to encourage engagement and keep your property’s brand at the front of residents’ minds. 

They can be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly reminders of all the amazing things taking place in your community. Send them out via email, post them on your website and social platforms, or place copies of them in community spaces where people can easily see them and grab a copy to read. 

They should also be as fun as they are informative so include things like upcoming community events, amenity updates, or special deals at local businesses. Just remember that the content in your newsletter should always be providing value to your residents in order to drive resident retention! 

9. Be on Top of Maintenance Requests

Maintenance requests can be a huge pain point for both property managers and residents, so handling maintenance requests should be done efficiently and in a timely manner. 

For example, give residents clear directions on what to do if they have a leaky faucet or a refrigerator that needs repair, and be responsive when they put in maintenance requests. No one likes having to deal with appliances and features that are making their lives more difficult.

Digitalizing maintenance requests can also simplify communication between residents and maintenance workers. Not only will streamlining this process make your maintenance team happier, it will also increase resident satisfaction and resident satisfaction = resident retention!

10. Conduct Amenity & Feature Check-ups

It’s always smart to be looking ahead. Technology is constantly shaping each and every industry, so make sure your apartment property is staying on top of trends that can boost residents’ experiences.

If it’s been a while since laundry machines were installed, give them a check-up and see if they need to be upgraded to newer models. If your community has a fitness center, survey how the gym hours are working for everyone and look if any machines are broken or need to be upgraded. Even the seat cushions in the lobby and community lounges can be checked once in a while to see if they need to be refreshed.

No matter how big or small, luxuries are becoming necessities to residents, so don’t wait too long to adapt! 

11. Focus on Security

Community safety remains a top concern for residents, and if residents don’t feel safe in their apartment at all times, they likely won’t stay as residents for long. 

To combat this, implement security cameras for community monitoring, install fobs or key cards to help monitor entrances, or consider using smart technology like apartment doorbell cameras. 

Another helpful resource is to create a message board for residents to post and share concerns with their neighbors and the property management team.   

12. Ask for Feedback

There’s always room for improvement, and direct feedback from residents is the best way to drive improvements.

Custom surveys on your website or physical comment cards in the lobby are just a couple ways you can gain valuable feedback and opinions of current residents. 

Regardless of how you receive feedback though, make sure you’re clear in putting effort to make improvements. Most people only care about surveys when they feel they’ll get a value out of it, so follow up feedback surveys through emails, social posts, or newsletters on the progress of any improvements taking place.   

13. Easy Renewal Process = Easy Retention

As leases near the end of their contracts, make it an easy choice for residents to stay and renew their lease. 

Provide easy lease renewals by offering an efficient process with electronic signatures and helpful resident portals. Digitalizing the process keeps documents organized and also frees up time that residents would otherwise be spending in leasing offices during lease renewal time. 

Additionally, make sure your website is easy to navigate and focuses on good user experience. Don’t compromise a resident’s renewal experience with a slow loading page, hard to read text, and poor layout! 

Retention rates are dependent on a lot of factors, but a continuous effort from the property management team can definitely help increase resident satisfaction and retention.

If you need help with marketing for renewals or maximizing your apartment marketing, our team at REPLI can help - contact us today!

For more apartment marketing resources, check out our other blogs here.