Today’s Piedmont renters are frequently eyeing strategies to make their homes more environmentally conscious. And the great news for landlords is that going “green” in your rental home is easy and makes a great selling point. In point of fact, by executing some of the simple changes, landlords and rental property owners can positively impact the environment and attract renters who want to enjoy an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
1. Recycling & Composting
One of the primary and effective ways to make your rental home more environmentally conscious is to encourage your tenant to recycle and compost their food waste. If your city or county offers a recycling program, getting started may be as easy as requesting a recycling bin and then showing your tenant which items should be placed in it. Furthermore, try providing a composting bin on the property so that your tenants can create clean fertilizer for the landscaping. Not only will you save on landscaping costs, but your tenant may enjoy having an option to throwing excess food away.
2. Upcycling
Aside from recycling, upcycling is an ideal option to reduce waste and protect the environment, too. Upcycling is just using items, such as empty glass jars from jelly or pickles, for another purpose. As an example, glass jars make convenient food storage containers, flower vases, light fixtures, or pen holders. As the property owner, you can do a lot to reuse items instead of buying new or just junking them. To get your tenants on board, provide them with some fun upcycling ideas and probably an incentive to cooperate.
3. Install Smart Air Conditioning
Another great idea to make your rental property pleasanter to the environment (and your utility bills) is to adjust how much and how often your tenant runs the air conditioning. For instance, simply encouraging your tenant to increase their thermostat by one or two degrees can save energy. Or else, for even greater advantage, think about installing a smart thermostat. Programmable thermostats are great energy savers because they can guarantee that the air conditioning is only running when people are home. Think about offering your tenant some tips on how to make the air conditioning run more efficiently, like closing doors and windows while functioning and changing the filters.
4. Use LED Light Bulbs
To save a large amount of energy (and the environment), change your rental’s light bulbs to efficient LED bulbs. LED bulbs are long-lasting and energy-efficient, which indicates that they will reduce energy use in the home and need to be changed a lot less often than traditional light bulbs. Remember to place the LED light bulbs in areas where lights are used over long periods of time, such as porch lights or other frequently used lights.
5. Water Your Lawn at Night
In the end, using less water is a practical method to impact the environment and your utility bills positively. For maximum efficiency and absorption, water your rental property’s lawn in the evening. When you water during the day, a lot of that water is lost to evaporation. But at night, more water reaches the roots of the plants and makes watering much more effective. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, this is as simple as adjusting the watering times. Or else, encourage your tenant to be environmentally friendly by watering the lawn after sunset or before sunrise.
If you enjoy reading our articles with helpful rental management tips, imagine how much you’ll like working with the Piedmont property managers at Real Property Management Pacific! Contact us online or call 925-889-9174 to get started.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
