Dealing with tenants under normal circumstances can sometimes be challenging for owners and property managers in Irvine. During times of high stress like the Covid-19 pandemic, things can quickly become even more frustrating.

There are strong signs of improvement. With vaccines available and infection numbers down, tenants and owners are feeling more hopeful. However, there are a lot of lingering issues that won’t go away quickly. There’s also a new model for how we live and work.

We have some helpful tips on how to handle your tenant relations, particularly during this time of pandemic recovery.

Working Together on Rent Payments

We have seen numbers that claim around four percent of tenants are currently not paying rent due to the financial stress of Covid-19. While California has recently extended the eviction moratorium and offered programs that can help property owners recover some of the rent they aren’t receiving, this is still an unsettling position for both owners and tenants to find themselves in.

If you have tenants who are still struggling to pay rent and meet their obligations, we recommend that you be as flexible as you can. Accept any partial payments that can be made and indicate your willingness to set up a payment plan. Work with them to enroll in government programs that will help them keep up with rent and avoid eviction in the future.

Investing in Property Management Technology

At HCM Property Management, we have managed homes the same way we always have throughout this pandemic. Not much changed because we had already invested in the most innovative technology available to Irvine property management companies. That has been a huge resource for us and our rental property owners. We’re communicating more by email and our cloud based accounting means that rental payments are still coming in on time, and accounting statements are easily generated.

All of this technology has made our management process more transparent and accountable. It’s also reduced your liability and cost as an owner and allowed us to communicate with tenants and vendors.

Contactless Leasing and Maintenance

Something you can do to make current and prospective tenants feel more comfortable include self-showings. The pandemic has demonstrated that showing technology such as smart locks and lockboxes can be a brilliant way to allow tenants the freedom and flexibility to see homes on their own time. We will open the house and leave when tenants want to visit, and we don’t show homes that are occupied.

Be mindful of extra cleaning and safety precautions during maintenance visits and inspections. You can easily eliminate the need for printed lease agreements. You can sign them digitally, and still make yourself available to tenants who may have questions or need parts of the lease explained.

Even as things begin to return to some version of normal, a lot has changed during the pandemic and many of those changes will stay with us. Working and learning from home, for example, has opened more opportunities to a lot of people. This is something to keep in mind as you prepare your property for the rental market. Tenants are now looking for spaces that are more than just homes; they’re offices and classrooms as well.

We’d be happy to help you recover from or push through this pandemic. If you need any help with Irvine property management, please contact us at HCM Property Management.