The COVID-19 pandemic has left many scrambling to find new ways to pay their rent or mortgage and feed their families. On top of that, everyone’s worried about getting sick and keeping their families in good health! When you have Washington DC homes for rent, it becomes part of your regular responsibilities to keep communication lines open during a disaster.

During any crisis, consistent communication is crucial for collecting rent, maintaining a safe and secure rental home, and making sure your renters continue to enjoy where they live.

Of course, if contact with your renters isn’t something you count among your skills, working with the Professional Landlords at Renters Warehouse can provide you the resources and support you need to work with your renters during these uncertain times. From using email to communicate with your tenants about how they are doing to keeping your renters aware of changes when a disaster affects your business, there are several ways to keep communication open during a disaster like COVID-19.

A word of caution: This blog post is not a substitute for legal counsel. When in doubt, consult with your trusted attorney or Professional Landlord for real-time assistance concerning your Washington rental homes!

How to Keep Lines of Communication Open

When you have Washington DC homes for rent and may not be able to make contact with your renters in person, the methods we’re about to describe may not only be useful, but even necessary! Here’s how you ensure your tenants know exactly what to expect during a disaster.  

1. Use Email

Communicating with your tenants during any crisis is essential if you want to keep them as tenants.

Smiling african American man having pleasant smartphone call

2. Check on Your Tenants

Approach each tenant according to their unique situation (within mandatory guidelines) instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach to things. Each of your tenants is likely facing unique challenges—so using the same approach may not work for everyone and could ruin the tenant-landlord relationship between you.

3. Partner With Professional Property Management

4. Explain Your Side Appropriately

Oftentimes, tenants don’t really know what’s going on when it comes to your side of things. It can help to explain your situation so that they understand how important it is that you all work together to make sure that everyone’s happy. As a landlord, you most likely have financial obligations like insurance, mortgage, taxes, maintenance, repairs, and utilities.

Make your tenants aware that, just like them, you have expenses that need to be paid so that they can understand how important it is that they find a way to make their rental payments—even if they’re late. Allowing them to see you as a person—rather than just their landlord—can make it easier for everyone to get what they need. 

Love is one phone call away

Finding Ways to Keep the Lines of Communication Open

Keeping communication lines open during disasters like the one we’re currently facing is essential to making sure everyone’s on the same page and that you get your rental payments on time. It’s also important for making sure your tenants feel safe and protected.

We’re all going through the same struggles together—and communicating any issues either of you has with each other makes it easier for everyone to know exactly what to expect. Consistent, professional, and reliable contact is one reason why working with Renters Warehouse can benefit you when you have Washington DC homes for rent.

Even with great communication skills, collecting rent during any crisis isn’t easy—especially when some of your tenants may have been recently laid off and might be living on less than they’re used to. However, our Collecting Rent in a Crisis Handbook can give you all the details you need to collect rent in a respectful, yet efficient way.