In the midst of the 2026 leasing season, multifamily operators are facing increased competition to attract and retain renters due to the lingering effects of elevated supply. National vacancy sits at 8.5%, where CoStar/Apartments.com project it will remain through year-end.
The practical effect for operators: a hyper-competitive leasing environment where getting (and keeping) heads in beds is a top priority.
In this environment, your leasing team has to work harder to secure new leases — but it may be even more important to protect the occupancy you already have. Renewals now account for 57% of all leasing activity, up from 51% in 2015, and CBRE expects that share to grow further in 2026.
Not only does retention matter in 2026 – it requires strategy and prioritization to drive it.
Strategies that Drive Retention: Focus on What Residents Actually Need
As anyone who has worked on-site knows, more technology and more programs don’t automatically translate into a better resident experience. A useful filter is to ask whether a given tool or solution addresses a genuine resident need—something that affects their daily life or financial wellbeing. Solutions that deliver on these needs, while being convenient for residents and staff alike, are what drive loyalty.
Let’s look at three examples of resident needs that property management teams are uniquely positioned to meet, and the impact that each can have on renewals.
Help Residents Build Their Financial Future While They Rent
Rent is most residents’ single largest monthly expense — and for a growing share of renters, that money isn’t working for them. Nearly half of Gen Z and millennial renters say their income doesn’t allow them to save at all, and 86% have delayed a major life milestone because of rising housing costs, according to Apartment List’s 2026 State of Renting report.
Homeownership is the goal for many — but the path there is longer than it used to be, and credit is part of the obstacle. Homeowners average a 754 credit score; while renters average only 638. That gap exists in part because their largest monthly payment — rent — is unlikely to be reported to credit bureaus. Only 13% of renters have any positive rental payment data on their credit report today, per a 2025 VantageScore analysis. When payments are reported, renters could see an increase of 60 credit score points.
For operators, rent reporting is a retention tool as much as a resident amenity. A renter who is actively building credit at your property has a reason to stay — not just through the end of their lease, but through the years it takes to reach their financial goals. Rather than moving between properties searching for a deal on rent or better concessions, they may be more likely to renew with an operator who is tangibly helping them get where they want to go. Per TransUnion, 57% of renters say they are more likely to rent from a property manager who reports payments, and 80% say they would be more likely to pay on time when their payments are being reported.
Be the Property That Has Residents’ Backs When It Matters Most
One of the most underappreciated forms of resident protection doesn’t come from a physical amenity — it comes from renters insurance compliance. Most properties require it, but most residents and property managers treat it as a box to check at move-in and forget about it. For operators, the instinct is to frame it as a lease requirement for residents to uphold, but that framing misses the retention opportunity entirely.
Consider what renters insurance monitoring technology actually does for a resident: if they let their policy lapse, or never secure adequate coverage, they’ll be automatically enrolled in a property damage liability waiver. This means that when a kitchen fire or a bathtub overflow damages their unit and their neighbors’, they aren’t personally on the hook for costs that could reach tens of thousands of dollars. The protection isn’t theoretical. For any resident who experiences a serious property damage event, being unprotected can be financially catastrophic — the kind of event that doesn’t just disrupt their tenancy, but their financial stability for years.
The retention impact of this is subtle. Most residents will never experience an incident. But this is what makes it so important to proactively communicate the value of this kind of program. A waiver program that is buried in a lease addendum and never explained to renters does nothing for loyalty. One that is proactively communicated — what’s required, what’s included, what it protects renters from — transforms a compliance obligation into a demonstrable benefit. With good communication in place, residents can understand that their property has created a program to protect them from worst-case scenarios.
That shift in perception is where the indirect retention value lives. It won’t show up on a renewal survey as a named reason for staying. But it contributes to the overall sense that the property is run by a company that cares for residents’ wellbeing — and that perception, accumulated across every interaction, is what moves renewal decisions.
Build Belonging Through Policies That Make Residents Feel at Home
Retention isn’t only about what a property offers — it’s also about whether residents sense that they belong. Renters who feel that their actual lives are welcome at a property develop a different relationship with it. When rules are designed around the asset rather than around the people living in it, renters tend to leave once that friction finally outweighs the cost of moving.
Pets are the clearest illustration of this dynamic. Although most multifamily properties allow pets today, renters often encounter confusing or restrictive pet policies that make them question whether their pets are actually welcome. Fewer than 10% of properties accept pets without breed or size restrictions, and over 80% of dog owners reported difficulty finding housing. These limitations can give renters a reason to misrepresent facts about their pets – and start the relationship with property management off on a note of distrust.
60% of renters cited their property allowing pets as a significant reason for their decision to renew — ranking it alongside cost and neighbors as a top renewal driver. Pet-inclusive policies are associated with residents staying 21% longer, directly reducing the turnover and vacancy costs that weigh on NOI in a competitive market. This creates real loyalty: a resident who has found a property that genuinely accommodates their pet — without excessive fees or unclear rules — will not give that up lightly.
The same logic extends beyond pets. Policies around guests, vehicles, storage, and unit modifications all carry a version of this dynamic: when residents feel that the rules are designed to protect the asset at their expense rather than to let them feel at home, loyalty to the property weakens. Operators who approach policy design with genuine inclusivity — clear, fairly structured, and communicated proactively — build the kind of environment where people want to stay.
The Properties Residents Choose to Stay In
Retention doesn’t happen because a property is perfectly optimized. It happens because residents feel that the property, and the people who manage it, are genuinely on their side — helping them build toward their financial future, protecting them when things go wrong, and making room for the lives they actually live (and the pets they consider family).
None of these require the biggest amenity budget or the newest building. They require operators who are willing to ask a different question: “What do residents actually need from us?”
The properties that answer that question well earn something that no concession package can buy — residents who want to stay.
Foxen helps multifamily operators put these strategies into practice through rent reporting, hassle-free renters insurance compliance, and pet management that’s clear to everyone. Want to learn more? Book a demo.
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