A welcome note to a new tenant is three or four lines: their first name, one detail about the home or the move, a plain "welcome", and the first name of the person they can call. Keep rules and rent out of it. Those belong in the welcome pack. Eighteen notes to copy follow, for move-in, thirty days in, ninety days before the lease ends, and the day a renewal is signed.
What should a welcome letter to a new tenant say?
Say four things: their name, one detail that shows you know which home and which people, a welcome, and who to call. "The key to the bike shed is on the blue tag." "The bakery on the corner opens at seven." Leave out the pet policy, the late-fee clause and the parking map. Those go in the welcome pack or the email, where they can be looked up.
Most templates online are checklists: utilities, rent portal, bin days. Still send that letter. The note here is a second, smaller thing. It tells the resident that a person, not a portal, looks after the building.
That matters at renewal time. Zillow surveyed more than 36,000 renters between March and July 2024. Among the reasons renters gave for renewing, 62 per cent named a likable landlord or property manager, close behind a well-maintained property at 66 per cent (Zillow Rentals Consumer Housing Trends Report 2025).
Move-in welcome notes
Order these the day the lease is signed, so the card lands in the first week or two.
Dear Maya, welcome to 14 Alder Court. The morning sun reaches the kitchen by eight, and the bakery on the corner opens at seven. Call me if anything sticks or squeaks. Helen, property manager
Hi Tom and Priya, welcome home. The key on the blue tag opens the bike shed. I hope the sofa made it up the stairs in one piece. Marcus
Dear Mr Alvarez, welcome to the building. Your neighbor in 3B, Mrs Chen, has lived here eleven years and knows everything. My number is on the fridge magnet. Dana
Hi Jordan, welcome to your first place of your own. The radiator in the bedroom knocks twice when it warms up. That is normal. Anything else, ring me. Sam
Dear the Okafor family, welcome. The park at the end of the road has the good swings, and the school bus stops right outside number 9. I hope the girls like their room. Helen
Notes thirty days in
A month in, the boxes are gone and the small faults have shown up. This note asks one question and gives one number to call.
Hi Maya, you have been in Alder Court a month. Is everything working as it should? If a tap drips or a window sticks, tell me now, while it is small. Helen
Dear Tom and Priya, one month in. Thank you for reporting the hallway light so quickly. It is fixed. Keep telling us. Marcus
Hi Jordan, a month already. I hope the radiator and you have made peace. If anything in the flat is not right, my mobile is the fastest way. Sam
Dear Mr Alvarez, thank you for a smooth first month. The new intercom goes in on the 14th, and your code will be the same. Dana
What should you write ninety days before a lease ends?
Write a thank-you, not an offer. Name how long they have lived there and one thing you have valued, say you would like them to stay, and tell them the renewal terms will follow by email or letter. Keep the rent figure and the legal notice out of the card. They belong in the formal offer, and anyone can read a postcard.
Dear Maya, it is nearly a year since you moved in. You have been a good neighbor to the whole court. We would love you to stay. The renewal details will reach you by email this week. Helen
Hi Tom and Priya, ten months in, and the balcony has never looked better. We hope you will stay another year. I will send the renewal offer on Monday. Questions, call me. Marcus
Dear Mr Alvarez, two years in the building this spring. Thank you for looking out for Mrs Chen in the snow. We would be glad to keep you. The paperwork follows by post. Dana
Hi Jordan, your first lease is nearly up. You have looked after the place well. If you would like to stay, I would like that too. Details by email tomorrow. Sam
Dear the Okafor family, a year at number 9. The girls have grown and so has the garden. We hope you will stay. I will send the renewal letter this week. Helen
Notes when a renewal is signed
Dear Maya, thank you for renewing. A second year at Alder Court. The kitchen tap you asked about is being replaced on the 3rd. Helen
Hi Tom and Priya, thank you for staying. It is good to know who is behind the door at number 6. Here is to another summer on that balcony. Marcus
Dear Mr Alvarez, year three. Thank you. Mrs Chen says she is relieved. So am I. Dana
Hi Jordan, thank you for signing on for another year. Your first place has become your home. Same number if anything needs fixing. Sam
Why is a renewal worth a card?
Because a move-out costs thousands and roughly half of renters leave when the lease ends. A card will not fix a leaking roof or a steep rent rise. It can make a contented resident feel noticed while they are deciding.
The numbers, with who counted them:
- About 54 per cent renew. RealPage Market Analytics found just over 54 per cent of renters in market-rate apartments renewed in the year to October 2024, up from an average of 50.7 per cent across 2010 to 2019 (RealPage).
- A turnover costs close to $4,000. Zego, a property software company, surveyed 630 property managers in 2023 and put the average cost of replacing a resident at $3,872, counting marketing, repairs, concessions and lost rent (Multifamily Dive). That is a vendor's survey, so treat it as a rough guide.
- Price comes first. In the Zillow survey, the top reason renters gave for renewing was that the rent was a good deal, at 72 per cent. A kind note does not outweigh a bad price.
On handwriting itself, the evidence comes from shops, not rentals. A field experiment with 1,232 customers of an online retailer found a handwritten thank-you roughly doubled later spending, while a typed note made no real difference, and the effect faded when a coupon came with it (Science Says, summarizing Kim, Choi and Kim, 2022). So keep the gift card out of the envelope, and do not expect a card to work as bulk mail. It works one resident at a time.
How do you send tenant notes without adding to the to-do list?
Decide the four moments once, and let dates do the rest. MailMyCard writes each card with a real pen held by a plotter, in real ink, and posts it. Your leasing sheet already holds the move-in and lease end dates. Add one column for the personal detail.
| Moment | When the card should be posted | What can trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Move-in | The day the lease is signed | A new row in a watched Google Sheet, or Zapier |
| Thirty days in | About two weeks after move-in | A Schedule set from the move-in date |
| Ninety days before lease end | About fifteen weeks before the end date | A Schedule set from the lease end date |
| Renewal signed | The day the renewal is signed | A row in the Sheet, Zapier, or a HubSpot or Zoho deal stage |
Cards are posted from India. Inside India they take days. Abroad they take one to three weeks, which is why the table posts early. See how long mail takes for your country. We do not connect to property management software directly. Use a Google Sheet or Zapier.
One card is $14.99. Businesses sending 50 or more agree a per-card price, from $8.99 for a pilot of 50 and falling with volume. The For business page has the details, and the developer docs cover the API and webhooks. For the sales side of property, see our real estate thank-you notes.
What should a tenant note leave out?
Leave out anything legal, anything about money, and anything private.
- Rent amounts and balances. A postcard can be read by anyone who handles it. Use a card in an envelope if you must mention the lease at all.
- The renewal offer itself. The notice and the terms go in the formal letter or email your lease and local law call for. The card is only the thank-you.
- Rules and reminders. A welcome note that mentions quiet hours is a warning, not a welcome.
- A different note for some residents and none for others. Send the same four moments to every household, so nobody is treated differently.
- A request for a review. Ask by email, later.
People hold back from writing because a thank-you feels awkward. Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley found in 2018 that people who wrote thank-you letters underestimated how good the person reading them would feel (Psychological Science).
Common questions
Is a welcome note the same as a tenant welcome letter?
No. The welcome letter is the practical one: how to pay rent, who fixes what, when the bins go out. The welcome note is four lines from a person. Send both.
Can a card replace the lease renewal notice?
No. The renewal offer and any notice periods follow your lease and local law, and they need to go out in the form those require. The card is a thank-you that arrives around the same time.
Should I put a gift card in with the renewal thank-you?
Better not. In the retail experiment above, the lift from a handwritten note faded when a coupon was attached. Put any renewal incentive in the formal offer.
Does this work for a landlord with two or three units?
Yes. You will know the details better than any large manager. Write the cards yourself, or send single cards and pick a layout from the designs gallery.
Sources
- Zillow Group, Rentals Consumer Housing Trends Report 2025 (surveys of more than 36,000 renters, March to July 2024): zillowstatic.com
- RealPage Market Analytics, "Retention Rates Climb Amid Supply Wave" (November 2024): realpage.com
- Zego, 2023 resident experience survey of 630 property managers, as reported by Multifamily Dive
- Kim, S., Choi, J. and Kim, S. H. (2022), Journal of Interactive Marketing, summarized by Science Says
- Kumar, A. and Epley, N. (2018), "Undervaluing Gratitude", Psychological Science: psychologicalscience.org
