Dear Landlords: Attracting Millennial Renters is Easier Than You Think

By Colin Kish

To be a successful landlord, especially around college campuses, you will need to attract millennial renters to your property. There are many different definitions of what a millennial is, but generally it is someone who is between the ages of 18 and 35 in 2015.

This demographic is one of the largest demographics in the US with over 80 million in the US, making them one of the largest groups of renters today. As you can imagine, millennials’ wants and preferences are much different from other generations like baby boomers, and it is important to make sure your property is doing what it can to attract them. If you are not adjusting to accommodate the young, modern renter, you are losing out to your competition. The good news is there are things you can do to position your rental to attract millennials, many that won’t break the bank.

Why Should You Care Millennial Renters?

Since millennials are one of the biggest demographic of renters, it makes obvious sense to focus on their needs. More importantly, millennials are fin no rush to buy a house so these trends will not be short lived fads. This is the generation that was hit hard by the real estate recession not too long ago and does not seem to be in a rush to have own a home, even when owning a home makes more financial sense. Since they are in no rush to have a mortgage, millennials make great long-term tenants. Landlords can expect many to stay longer than one year, thus decreasing the annual turnover.

What Can I Do to Attract Millennial Renters?

There are hundreds of things you can do to your rental property to attract millennial renters. Some will cost you little to no money to implement while others might take a few years until you see a return on your investment. However, long-term, all of these suggestions below will pay dividends for years to come. Millennial renters, and most likely the generation of renters after them, will see these as necessities when renting an apartment versus an upgrade or an amenity. Fail to keep up and you will lose out to your competition.

Here are 4 things you can do to attract millennial renters

1. Offer Community and Outdoor Space

For millennials, community and outdoor space is almost as important as indoor space. Millennials are willing to live in a smaller unit if the property is well located and offers community and outdoor space. High-tech millennials often favor smaller units, often not owning anything other than their technology. They would rather spend time outside of their apartment, among their community and peers. Additionally, having community and outdoor space can help foster a community among residents, thus improving your resident retention.

To attract renters who grew up in the technology age, it is important to make sure your property has social environments as this is the generation that likes to be socially connected. Spaces like study lounges, outdoor gardens and courtyards with fire pits all help residents stay connected with their peers. Community kitchens, grilling and BBQ stations are often one of the most used community amenities. Millennial renters prefer to spend more time outside their apartment than inside. Since many of them will have smaller units, they will expect to have gathering space available, especially for times when they have friends or family visiting.

2. Go Green for the Environment

You might think, what does a 20 something care about the environment? Well, millennials are known to be motivated by meaning, and they are actually more focused on the environment than their parents’ generation, 76% to 24%. Going green is often a much more expensive alternative that not going green. When evaluating options, it might not be as clear as paying for Y more energy efficient appliances will bring in X more rent. You might also think, will a renter pay more to live green?

According to poll commissioned by the Clinton Global Initiative and Microsoft, two-thirds of millennials said they are willing to pay more for products from sustainability-focused companies. It makes sense that this same group would pay a higher rate for green features. Your property does not have to be LEED Platinum to be green. Offering amenities and features like energy-efficient heating and cooling, energy star-rated appliances, recycled materials, water-efficient fixtures and onsite bike parking can all make your property green and more attractive to millennial renters.

3. Be Really Pet Friendly

It is no secret that the majority of renters have a pet, and millennials are no exception. Given that a high percentage of millennial renters have pets, they often look for pet friendly rentals. However, it is not good enough to be just pet friendly. You need to set yourself apart from all the other pet friendly rentals by offering amenities like a dog walk area with a hydration station or a pet washing station.

Will those extra amenities allow a landlord to charge higher rents? Well, millennial pet owners are sensitive to their pet’s lifestyle, and often spend more on non-essential items for their pets than other demographics. Given this, it would make sense that a millennial would pay more for a rental with pet amenities. Finally, make sure your pet policy is friendly to as many pet owners as possible. Having a very restrictive pet policy is almost as harmful as not allowing pets.

4. Keep up with technology

As you can imagine, millennial renters love their technology. To attract, and keep, millennial renters, you will want to stay up with current technology. If you are thinking about upgrading or renovating your property, there are a number of things you can do to upgrade your property’s technology including updating plugs and outlets to include USB plugs and installing WiFi in common areas like lounge areas. If you want to take your technology to another level, you can look into smartphone features that allow tenants to control appliances, control temperature and lock doors via their app.

When talking technology, it is impossible to not talk about internet speed and connectivity. There is no faster way to spread a bad reputation about your rental than having slow internet or ban connectivity for your residents. For millennials, having access to fast internet is as critical as plumbing and has gone beyond just an being an amenity. In 5 years, it is expecting that Americans will have 50 Internet-connected devices in their homes, and millennials are no exception. Get your internet strategy wrong and you won’t have to worry about bad reviews as you won’t have tenants.

How Can I Reach Millennial Renters?

As stated before, millennials are the connected generation, connected to their devices and to their peers through social networks. Since millennials are constantly on the go, it is important to make sure your branding collateral, like your website, looks as good on a smartphone as it does on a desktop.

One important item many landlords neglect are reviews. According to Search Engine Land, 79% of consumers trust online reviews. Rather than run from any negative feedback, engage with the users and provide positive feedback. Most important, if there really is an issue, work to improve the situation for future residents. Don’t be afraid of a negative review. Rather, see it as an opportunity to improve and show other potential renters you care about your residents.

When engaging with users, It is best to be honest as millennials can smell BS a mile away. This extends into all forms of social media where you might engage with renters. It can takes months or years to build a following on social media but only one wrong move to destroy it as shown by McDonald’s and their fail at the Austin SXSW conference. Be honest, try not to be too cool, and engage with your audience and you will attract millennials.

Share this article: