Questions We Need to Start Asking Ourselves as Christian Landlords
How can we implement our faith in our real estate investing?
How can we love others as Christian landlords?
What are some ways we can love our tenants?
How can we be good stewards of our rental properties?
How do we love thy tenant?
Here’s the big list of money topics in the Bible, and here is a list of over 100 Bible verses about money.
Practical Ways to ‘Love Thy Tenant’
When Jesus was asked “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” he responded “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is that you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” We see this same story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But who exactly is our neighbor?
- Luke 10:25-28
- Mark 12:28-31
- Matthew 22:35-40
But who is it exactly that we should love?
In John 13 Jesus says that he has a new commandment, that we love one another; just as he has loved us, we are also to love one another.
Related: Bible Verses about Real Estate Investing
This may make it a little easier to understand that our neighbor refers to anyone around us. And through loving one another, people will see that we are his disciples.
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:34-35
Jesus First Loved Us, So We Love Our Tenants
Dear friends, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:11
Our neighbor is anyone that we interact with. As Christians who are transformed by the Gospel, we should be looking for ways to love those around us. This includes our clients, customers, fans, followers, and our tenants.
Related: 9 Unique Ways to Use Real Estate As A Ministry
3 Practical Ways We can Love Thy Tenant
Now that we know that Jesus wants us to love our tenants, how do we do that? Here are 3 practical ways that we can show love to our tenants as Christian landlords.
1. Providing a comfortable and safe living space
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.
Leviticus 19:33
We need to treat our tenants honorably. Providing them with the best accommodations that we can.
Creating a safe, comfortable, homey rental will not only show love towards our tenants, but it also helps to attract tenants who will take care of the property well.
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Matthew 25:40
2. Do not squeeze every last penny out of them
We should not abuse the position we have by trying to dig every last penny out of a person. Be reasonable with our rental rates and the fees associated with renting the property; like late fees, pet fees, etc.
There is nothing wrong with making a profit. But we should not become greedy and take more than is fair.
When tax collectors came to Jesus to ask him what they should be doing now that they had been baptized he responded: “Don’t collect any more than you are required to.” Luke 3:12
And when some soldiers asked Jesus what they should do now that they were also baptized, Jesus told them: “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.” Luke 3:14
It is pretty clear that Jesus doesn’t want us to take advantage of our tenants. So don’t raise rents higher than is the fair market price.
Related: Books for Christian Entrepreneurs
3. Love all tenants equally
There are plenty of different types of people who will come to tour our rental properties when they are advertised. When selecting tenants to occupy those properties we need to choose those tenants fairly.
Not only is it against the law to discriminate against certain protected classes when selecting tenants, but it is also not biblical to be selective.
There are numerous times when Jesus hung out with people that most others would not be caught dead with! And he asks us to do the same.
We do want to be smart with who we accept into our rentals but make it clear what your criteria are and hold firm to it. Be careful not to discriminate based on any of the protected classes in your state.
Related: Biblical Business Principles You Can Learn From Proverbs
What Kind of Landlord Would Jesus Be?
As you go about making decisions in your real estate investing business try to ask yourself how Jesus would handle things. How would Jesus ‘Love thy tenant?’
Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
Matthew 21:33
We are all tenants of this world that belongs to God. He has provided us with so many wonderful things to enjoy on this earth. We should model our own landlording style off of God’s. Providing our own tenants with homes that they can enjoy too.
Remember that we are just stewards of God’s resources here on earth. He is the one in control of our businesses and their outcomes.
How Do You Love Thy Tenant?
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Over 100 Bible Verses About Money
Such practical tips. I really appreciate your tip to create a comfortable and safe living space. Quality goes a long way. Treat people like you want to be treated- it’s a great idea for life and business. I’m don’t have tenants yet, but when I do I’ll make sure to follow these tips.
I’m glad to hear that you will implement these tips! Loving your tenants well keeps them around longer and ultimately helps your bottom line because there won’t be as much vacancy.