If you ever drive by an apartment building where the patios are a cluttered mess, you can see why it is a bad reflection of your property and how your apartment should look. Clutter does not do anything for aesthetics, so help your residents understand that they need to keep their balconies clutter free. Here are some ways to do that.

—    Add patio restrictions to your lease agreements. Let new residents know that a cluttered patio is not ok, and management reserves the right to tell you that your patio is too cluttered. Have them sign something in the lease agreement that shows that they’ve read and understood the clause for future reference. 
—    Be specific about what is and what is not allowed on the patio area. Do you allow grills? Charcoal or gas? Do you allow kid pools? Do you allow pets to be left out on the balcony? Think carefully about the kinds of things you want on display for everyone driving past your building to see, and also about any safety or noise concerns. 
—    Be sure to actually enforce the policy. This one sounds like a no-brainer, but it is harder than it sounds. If one resident sees another resident’s cluttered patio, they will think it is ok to do the same in their
apartment, and so the pattern goes. Actively enforcing your policy will keep the standards the same for everyone and then no one will take advantage of the rules. 
—    Offer and alternative storage solution. Do you have space in the basement to create storage lockers? Can you suggest a storage facility up the road? Maybe you could even make an agreement with another local business about offering your residents a discount to use their facility in exchange for free advertising. 
—    Make it into a contest. Award the resident with the nicest looking balcony with a gift card or some sort of prize. If it gets turned into a competition, you can get all the residents involved. Spruce it up to become a decorating contest for holidays or seasons to add more fun to the game. 

Make sure that your residents are helping to improve your property, not destroy it. If you are looking for more tips, sign up for one of our trainings on our website. We have classes in all different areas of property management and we can find a way to help you improve your management skills and knowledge. Contact us today!