While tenants are typically responsible for paying monthly utilities for their rental properties, inefficient usage of appliances like water heaters and air conditioners can still come back to bite the landlord. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, rental properties tend to be less efficient than those owned by the primary resident – this trend is especially pertinent to landlords covering some or all of their tenants' utility costs.

One of the easiest ways for you to address energy waste occurring at your rental property is to invest in high-performance interior upgrades like tankless water heaters. Read on to learn how going tankless can help lower your costs and encourage your tenants to think twice about how they use water and fuel. A timely upgrade could help you expand the range of tenants interested in your property.

Inspire new cost-saving habits in your tenants by going tankless.

Attract and keep tenants with high-efficiency appliances
More Americans are concerned with the well-being of the environment, and are subsequently interested in improving the efficiency of their daily lives. This trend is especially popular among the first wave of Millenials transitioning into home ownership. You can market toward this growing base of home buyers by integrating green technology into your property. Pointing toward planet -friendly appliances as you show tenants the property is an effective strategy for highlighting how your property operates at high efficiency.

This benefit, in particular the resulting cost savings, creates incentives for your tenants to stick around and provide a consistent stream of rent for your property. The Capital Gazette noted that tankless models heat on demand, making it a cinch for your tenants to pick up smarter water and energy use habits.

Accounting for the unexpected costs associated with being a landlord is significantly easier when your property is inhabited by consistent tenants who prioritize green living. That's why going tankless is a prudent choice – the upgrade can help limit water and natural gas waste at the same time.

Tankless water heaters, on the other hand, are designed to run at full efficiency for at least twenty years. That means a new landlord could invest in a tankless water heater this year and almost certainly see the appliance outlast their time as owner of their rental property. This type of long term efficiency is critical for landlords looking to manage their property as cost-effectively as possible. A still-efficient tankless model could serve as an extra source of leverage when selling your rental as well.

Reliable tankless water heaters limit maintenance costs
An aging, wasteful water heater is bad news for land lord. Even limited scale accumulation, wear in the heating element and damage to the tank quickly compromise the efficiency of a standard water tank. Even worse, reservoir-style heaters are only guaranteed to function at full efficiency for ten years. Unless you have just installed a new water heater just recently, it's more than likely the model running at your rental property is suffering limited performance.

Go tankless to avoid paying extra for insulation
Another factor that landlords have to contend with when selecting new water heaters for their rental properties is the recent change in government standards regarding residential appliances. The new law, which took effect in April, required manufacturers to make their standard heater models more efficient. The result was larger heaters that are more difficult, and more expensive, to install.

Thankfully, you can circumvent the hassles of upgrading your property with untested technology by going tankless instead. High-performance models boast 99 percent thermal efficiency, ratings so good that tankless manufacturers weren't  required to change a thing to meet the government's new requirements. Saving yourself the trouble of navigating a new generation of water heaters alone is a great reason to consider going tankless as an alternative.