Just Released
2026 Resident Experience Management Report
Retention rates are declining, and the gap between operator assumptions and resident reality is widening. This report delivers the critical insights you need to reverse the trend and build communities where residents choose to stay. Drawing on comprehensive surveys of both property managers and renters, we reveal where perceptions diverge from expectations, and provide the strategic framework to close that gap decisively.
Start readingCritical insights into resident satisfaction and turnover
Our 2026 Resident Experience Management Report exposes the persistent perception gaps costing operators renewals they could have won. Discover why retention has slipped, what residents actually value, and how to align your operations with the factors that drive lease renewals. Start reading the report now!
After surveying renters and multifamily operators, what did we find?
After reaching 60% in 2024, average retention rates have dropped to 57%—precisely when operators can least afford it. Rising operational costs and intensifying competition make every lost renewal more costly than ever. Yet our research reveals a clear path forward: the difference between properties that retain residents and those that lose them comes down to alignment between what managers assume residents want and what residents actually value.
Here are the critical misalignments we've uncovered between renters and property managers:
- Retention goals and reasons for non-renewals: Property managers attribute non-renewals to external factors like job relocation and life changes. But renters identify controllable factors as their top reasons for leaving: rent increases, poor maintenance, and security concerns. Despite declining performance, 59% of property managers still expect retention to improve—a confidence gap that demands attention.
- Pricing and value thresholds: Renters begin reconsidering renewal at an average rent increase of just 8%, with the $90–$150 monthly increase threshold triggering hesitation. Understanding these thresholds is essential to pricing strategies that protect retention.
- Service channel preferences: Renters have clear, task-specific preferences for how they want to interact. 49% prefer digital-only for rent payments and 43% for tracking maintenance status—but 35% prefer human-only interaction for neighbor or noise complaints. Matching service channels to task types improves satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Closing the perception gap is essential to reversing retention declines. In collaboration with SA Market Insights, we surveyed renters and multifamily property managers to uncover the underlying factors driving renter decisions. Start reading now!
Top 2026 findings:
What is resident experience management?
Resident experience management is the curation of personalized and frictionless touchpoints throughout a renter's tenancy. It goes beyond the feel-good aspects of a community to encompass how renters interact with staff and conduct apartment-related tasks like paying rent, managing maintenance requests, and reserving amenities.
As the gap between retention goals and actual performance continues to widen, operators who move beyond assumption to insight—and from insight to action—create communities where residents don't just live, but choose to stay. Read the report to understand the perception gaps undermining your retention rates and gain the strategic framework to close them with confidence.
Deliver an extraordinary resident experience
See how the right tools can elevate the resident experience. Book a demo with Zego to explore how the platform can help you align with modern renter expectations and increase your resident renewals.