The Pros and Cons of Providing Community Laundry Rooms

Providing your tenants with a community laundry room can increase their happiness and draw new tenants to your property. However, there are also some drawbacks to community laundry rooms that make some property owners wonder if these amenities are really worth the investment. Discover the pros and cons of providing community laundry rooms.

Pro: Draw in More Tenants

Putting a community laundry room on your rental property allows your tenants to do laundry without going very far from home—they might not even have to leave the building. Convenience of this kind is always a big draw for prospective tenants, helping you to keep units occupied.

Con: Up-Front Cost

Setting up a community laundry room requires a serious financial commitment. At the very least, you need several commercial washers and dryers, plus someone on your payroll who can do repairs. However, designing the ideal community laundry room takes more than just a few machines; you also need comfort elements such as seating, vending machines, and more to be competitive.

Pro: No In-Unit Laundry

If you read landlord blogs online, you’ll be sure to run into some true horror stories regarding in-unit laundry. Some landlords have had to replace entire floors and ceilings because of leaks and machine misuse. By providing your tenants with a designated space to do laundry, you won’t have to worry about the machines causing damage to your units. Keeping units clean and well-maintained also means your turnover costs will be lower.

Con: Attracting Thieves

One common complaint among rental property and laundromat owners is coin theft. If your commercial laundry machines take coins, they create a target for petty thieves. One way you can deter theft is by having lots of security features. You could also consider hiring someone to watch the room. The easiest option is to use a payment system that doesn’t require coins, such as a card or app payment.

Pro: Passive Income

One of the pros of providing community laundry rooms is that it gives landlords an opportunity to make passive income. You can charge people to use the laundry machines and use the space to house profit-making vending machines. Tenants appreciate having the opportunity to buy snacks and beverages without leaving the property.

Con: Abuse of Laundry Privileges

While it’s wild to think that some people don’t know how to use laundry machines, it’s unfortunately true. Landlords and laundromat owners have seen it all: tenants dyeing and tanning clothes, parents letting kids play inside the commercial machines, and people who take all the available machines. If you set up a community laundry room on your property, be prepared to deal with the risks.

We hope this list of pros and cons has been helpful. Giving your tenants a laundry room can have many benefits, but it also brings risks.