25 Resident Survey Questions Worth Asking (and How to Use the Answers)

A resident survey is one of the cheapest ways to find out what's working at your community and what's quietly pushing people toward moving out. It's also easy to get wrong. Twenty questions, sent once, with results nobody hears about again, teaches residents that answering is a waste of time.

A useful survey is short, asks about things you can actually change, and ends with residents hearing what you did. Below are 25 resident survey questions grouped by topic, each with the answer format that works best. You won't use all 25 at once. Pick eight to ten for a full survey, or one or two for a quick pulse check.

Surveys are one piece of a bigger engagement picture. The resident engagement playbook covers how they fit with your newsletter, events and recognition.

Decide what you'll do with the answers

Only ask what you're prepared to act on or explain. If the budget for new gym equipment is zero this year, asking residents to rank gym upgrades sets up disappointment. Ask about things where an answer could change a decision.

Keep it short

Ten questions is a good ceiling for a full survey; one to three is perfect for a monthly pulse. Every extra question costs you responses. If residents can finish in under three minutes, more of them will.

Mix the formats

• Rating scales (1 to 5) are quick to answer and easy to compare over time.
• Multiple choice works when you already know the likely answers.
• One open question at the end catches what you didn't think to ask. More than two open questions and completion drops.

Tell residents why, and how long it takes

"Five quick questions, about two minutes, to help us plan next year's amenities" gets more responses than "Please complete our resident survey."

One full survey a year, small pulses in between

A full satisfaction survey once a year gives you a baseline and a trend. In between, a one- or two-question pulse in your monthly newsletter keeps the conversation going without wearing residents out: one month about events, another about a recent change, another about communication.

Time it around what you're deciding

Send the full survey a couple of months before budgets are set or before renewal season starts, so the answers can still change something. A survey that lands after the decisions are made only tells residents their input came too late.

Ask right after the moments that matter

Short follow-ups work best close to the experience: a two-question check-in 30 days after move-in, a one-question rating after a maintenance request is closed, a quick note after a big project like a pool renovation wraps up. Residents remember the details, and you catch problems while they're still easy to fix.

Overall satisfaction

• 1. Overall, how satisfied are you with living here? Scale of 1 to 5. The headline number to track year over year.
• 2. How likely are you to recommend this community to a friend or family member? Scale of 0 to 10. A simple read on whether residents would vouch for you.
• 3. What do you like most about living here? Open answer. Tells you what to protect and what to feature in marketing.
• 4. Has living here met the expectations you had when you moved in? Better than expected / About what I expected / Worse than expected.
• 5. How safe do you feel in the community, including parking areas and common spaces? Scale of 1 to 5.

Maintenance

• 6. How satisfied are you with how quickly maintenance requests are resolved? Scale of 1 to 5. Speed is usually what residents care about most.
• 7. When a request was completed, was the problem fixed the first time? Yes / No / Haven't submitted one.
• 8. How easy is it to submit a maintenance request? Scale of 1 to 5. Low scores often mean residents don't know where to go.
• 9. How would you rate the courtesy and professionalism of our maintenance team? Scale of 1 to 5.
• 10. Is there anything in your home that needs attention right now? Open answer. Follow up on every one of these; it's also a quick win.

Communication

• 11. How do you prefer to hear from the office? Email / Text / Resident portal / Printed notice. Use the answer to set your channel mix.
• 12. How well do we keep you informed about things that affect you, like shutoffs, construction and policy changes? Scale of 1 to 5.
• 13. How often do you read our monthly newsletter? Every issue / Sometimes / Rarely / I didn't know there was one. The last option is a useful wake-up call.
• 14. When you contact the office, how satisfied are you with the response? Scale of 1 to 5.

Amenities and the property

• 15. Which amenities do you use at least once a month? Multiple choice, select all. Shows what earns its upkeep.
• 16. How satisfied are you with the cleanliness of common areas? Scale of 1 to 5.
• 17. How satisfied are you with parking? Scale of 1 to 5. A frequent source of quiet frustration.
• 18. If we could add or improve one amenity, which would matter most to you? Multiple choice from options you could realistically fund, plus "Other."
• 19. How satisfied are you with package delivery and pickup? Scale of 1 to 5.

Community and events

• 20. How connected do you feel to your neighbors and the community? Scale of 1 to 5. A good long-term engagement metric.
• 21. Which kinds of resident events would you be most likely to attend? Multiple choice: food and drinks, family-friendly, fitness, pets, giving back, seasonal, none. Pair with 32 resident event ideas by season when you plan.
• 22. What day and time works best for you to attend an event? Weekday evening / Weekend morning / Weekend afternoon / Rarely available.

Renewal and the future

• 23. How likely are you to renew your lease when it's up? Very likely / Somewhat likely / Not sure / Unlikely. Follow up personally with anyone who answers "Unlikely" if the survey isn't anonymous.
• 24. If you were to move out, what would be the main reason? Multiple choice: price, space, location, maintenance, management, neighbors, life change, other.
• 25. What's one thing we could change that would make living here better? Open answer. End every survey with this one.

• Put it where residents already look. Link it in your monthly newsletter and send a short text with the link. A survey that only lives in the portal reaches the residents who already log in.
• Lead with the time it takes. "Two minutes, five questions" in the subject line or text helps. These subject lines include a set written for polls and surveys.
• Give it a deadline. One to two weeks. Send one reminder halfway through.
• Consider a small incentive. A drawing for a gift card or a month of free parking lifts responses. Make it clear answers stay the same either way.
• Decide on anonymity up front. Anonymous surveys get more honest answers; named ones let you follow up. You can offer an optional name field to get some of both.

• Look for patterns, not single answers. One angry comment is a resident to call. Fifteen comments about parking is a problem to solve.
• Compare by building or unit type if you can. Problems are often concentrated in one place.
• Track the same core questions every time. Satisfaction, maintenance speed and renewal likelihood are worth asking every survey so you can see the trend.
• Read every open answer. They're the part of the survey most likely to surprise you.

This is what decides whether residents answer the next survey. Within a few weeks, share what you heard and what you're doing about it, in your newsletter and anywhere else residents will see it.

• "You told us maintenance response times were slow. We've added a second technician on Saturdays."
• "Parking came up more than anything else. Here's what we're changing in visitor parking starting next month."
• "Many of you asked for more weekend events, so the monthly coffee morning moves to Saturdays."

If you can't act on something, say so and say why. Residents respect a straight answer far more than silence. For a steady rhythm of short questions between bigger surveys, a one-question poll in each monthly issue works well; how often to send a resident newsletter covers building that habit.