Tenant Retention in 2025: How Comfort, Health, and Sustainability Drive Renewals
- Octavian Vasilovici
- Oct 21
- 3 min read
Commercial real estate is no longer just about location and rent. Across Canada, tenants are making occupancy decisions based on comfort, health, and sustainability and they’re holding landlords accountable for delivering all three.
What’s changed is not just preference, but priority. The pandemic made indoor air quality personal. ESG reporting made energy data corporate. And flexible work models made the office an experience, not an obligation.
For owners, this evolution cuts both ways. Meeting these expectations can strengthen tenant loyalty, improve asset valuation, and reduce churn. Failing to meet them can quietly erode NOI and push good tenants toward newer, more responsive buildings.
The question isn’t whether expectations are changing — it’s whether your building is keeping pace.
Here’s where the gap usually shows.
Comfort Is Now Non-Negotiable
Temperature swings, stale air, and noisy mechanical systems used to be tolerated; not anymore. Studies by BOMA and ASHRAE consistently show that thermal comfort and air quality top the list of tenant satisfaction drivers.Uncomfortable tenants don’t renew — they relocate. And every non-renewal means another round of downtime, leasing fees, and re-fit costs that could have been avoided through better environmental control.
Indoor Air Quality and Health
Post-COVID, air quality has become part of a building’s brand. Tenants expect measurable proof of good ventilation and filtration, including:
Ventilation rates that meet ASHRAE 62.1
Filtration at MERV 13 or higher
Monitored CO₂ and particulate levels
Buildings that can demonstrate these metrics not only attract tenants faster but command higher retention — because health confidence has become part of workplace safety.
Sustainability and ESG Alignment
Corporate tenants are under pressure to report on carbon and energy use. According to CBRE’s 2024 Occupier Sentiment Survey, more than 70% of organizations now include sustainability performance in site selection.A landlord that can provide reliable data on energy, carbon, and waste positions the property as a partner in ESG compliance. One that can’t risks being filtered out of RFPs entirely.
Amenities and Flexibility
Square footage is no longer the selling point — usefulness is.EV charging, bike storage, collaborative work areas, and adaptable layouts are now seen as standard, not premium. Federal and institutional projects already require EV infrastructure and flexible design. Private-sector tenants are quickly following suit.
Technology and Transparency
Smart technology has reshaped tenant expectations for transparency and control:
Smart metering ensures fair energy allocation.
Digital access and security streamline operations.
Performance dashboards show how the building is actually running.Tenants now expect data-backed transparency. A building without it feels dated — regardless of age.
The Cost of Falling Behind
The penalties for ignoring these shifts aren’t abstract. They show up as:
Higher turnover → lost rent and brokerage fees
Increased vacancy risk → discounted leases
Asset devaluation → weaker appraisals against modern stock
Buildings that invest proactively in comfort, health, and sustainability don’t just meet expectations — they set them. These are the assets tenants stay in, investors prefer, and lenders reward.
In 2025 and beyond, tenant satisfaction has become one of the most reliable indicators of asset performance. Comfort, air quality, and sustainability aren’t amenities — they’re the baseline for market relevance.
At Opti Build Consulting, our engineers help owners translate tenant expectations into actionable capital strategies. From air-quality audits to ESG-aligned retrofit planning, we design solutions that protect NOI, retain tenants, and future-proof your asset.
If you’re unsure where to begin, start with your tenants.
We can help you measure what matters most — comfort, performance, and perception — and turn those insights into a long-term advantage.
