Leasing Consultants - Who do they report to?

I'm in the process of opening a new community and I'm battling with my leasing and marketing department as to who the leasing consultants are to report to. My feeling is that leasing agents should report to the property manager not to the leasing and marketing department. It would then be the responsibility of the property manager to discuss any marketing or leasing issues with the marketing dept. How do you structure your properties when it comes to reporting to whom?

With Gratitude,
Seth Cohen

I think that the leasing and marketing departments should be set up to SUPPORT the site staff and provide resources and tools for the leasing teams on site to do their job.

That said, the site leasing teams need to report to site management as their first line of supervision.

My first shot with the information I have here is that they need to report to the manager, if the manager is being held accountable for the performance of the property.

Now, if you are saying that the leasing department takes care of more than one community, then yes the leasing consultant reports back to the leasing department; however, before any actions take place and at the end of all actions the property manager should be in the loop and consulted.

Experience is another consideration. If you have a new manager that has never had a property, then they will need to be coached and mentored.

So, now I will end with it depends on the situation as to who they report to and that comes to experience at the management level. For sure if you have an experienced manager the leasing agent should be reporting directly to them.

How the job descriptions are written is another indicator as to who the leasing agent reports to as well.

Me; if I had a leasing and marketing department, they would be support arms to the managers.

The reason you see a contradiction in this is because like I said it is situational in my mind.

As a community manager I wouldn't want anyone on my site who does not report directly to me. If what goes on at my community is ultimately my responsibility then there shouldn't be anyone on site who doesn't answer to me. IMO the leasing consultant should have a close relationship with the marketing dept. and be encouraged to use this wonderful resource, but still understand that the manager has the final say.

Hi Seth,
My first reaction is to ask: Who approves the Lease? If the Leasing Consultant takes the calls, sets the appointments, shows the apartment, handles all the paperwork and then passes off the Lease Signing to the Manager, then the Leasing Consultant is under the direction of the Manager. This is and always has been my recommendation. Ultimately, when there are issues with rules being followed, lease interpretations, etc., it almost always does fall on the Property Manager's shoulders to decide consequences, mediate settlements, and initiate evictions.

This isn't to say that the Leasing Consultant can't assist in this and it is important they have an understanding of this, but generally if there are problems, the Manager is asked to report about it, if not deal with it.

In the real world on site though, most Leasing Consultants typically do it all, including the Lease Signing and many Managers have no idea who the new Resident is because they haven't met them. If that is what happens and we all know it does, then I can understand why the Marketing Department may want "jurisdiction." After all, they are the ones responsible for training, development and Shopping the Leasing Consultant. If the Marketing Department assumes this responsibility for the Portfolio, then I would suggest that every region have its own Marketing/Training Specialist who can oversee this area and collaborates with the Property Manager. In fact, this may relieve some Managers of the responsibility of having to back-up the Leasing Consultant on some of their Shop Reports and defending or explaining their scores.

What if there is not marketing/sale department and you work for a smaller company? What is there is a leasing consultant, assistant property manager, and a property manager? Thank what? As a leasing consultant I'd always assumed that i report to the assistant manager because logic told me that is the person directly above me. However i have run into circumstances where I was instructed that I should have gone directly to the property manager. In other circumstances I was told I should report to the assistant manager. The lines have merged and I find myself just consulting everyone because it seems everyone is the boss!

Hi Danielle,
If you work for a smaller company, then you get to do it all and that can be a lot of fun and present a lot of opportunity for gaining growth experiences. Every property runs a bit differently, but it sounds like your Office is a little confusing. As a Manager, I would expect to be "in charge" and everyone would report to me (eventually). You should probably ask for some clarification as to what times you need to report directly to the Property Manager. Typically, you should go directly to the Manager to report all Accidents/Incidents, requests from Residents regarding payment plans or deviations to a Lease, and any emergency event (fire, theft, flood, weather or property damage.)

The only time you, as a Leasing Consultant, would go directly to the Assistant Manager (in my experience) is when the Property Manager is not onsite. It would be best though, to have it in writing what your actual duties are and to whom you should report in all instances. In some instances, Leasing Consultants do report to the Assistant Manager when it pertains to leasing duties.

I manage an 83 unit property, and my leasing assistant (who is also the assistant manager) reports to me, the manager.

However, our corporate office has an open door policy, and they manage over 200 local communities, so there will always be someone available to assist them.

My maintenance tech and vendors also report directly to me when I am available, otherwise, they call my portfolio manager at corporate.

You know sometimes I am hit over the head and a light comes on. After reading these posts and what some people are saying I said I never had that problem, so why is this, then it hit me.

I always did the old and true military way. Whenever I went in I found out who my immediate supervisor was and then from them I would ask the question of who I was in charge of? From this I formed a chain of command if you will. I posted it and I briefed everyone who was the immediate supervisor and who if anyone they were in charge of and I had a senior rater if you will who was always my boss.

There was never an issue of who reported to who, or who was in charge. There were performance evaluations almost like when I was in the military and everyone knew where they stood.

I found it useful and never had issues and it sure made things easier.