Tenants and units
Offices, flats and amenity rooms are units: rooms you can let. Tenants pay rent every day; how well a unit is served decides who signs and who stays.
Who comes
Every game hour, prospects of each tenant type look for a unit in your city. A prospect looks at every vacant unit it could use, scores each one and takes the best one it can afford, if the score is good enough.
| Tenant | Unit | Budget per m | Cares most about | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call centre | Small Office | $400 | rent | the start |
| Design studio | Small Office | $430 | view and quiet | Class B |
| Consultancy | Small Office | $460 | access | Class A |
| Couple | Studio Apartment | $260 | rent and access | the start |
| Retired couple | Studio Apartment | $240 | quiet | the start |
| Single professional | Studio Apartment | $300 | access | Class B |
Amenities have their own operators (see Amenities and visitors). How many prospects come depends on the city's demand, your reputation, the weather and scenario events.
How a unit is judged
Each unit scores from 0 to 1 on:
- Rent: how far the asking rent is below the tenant's budget. Over budget, it is out of the question.
- Access: the time from the street to the unit, including elevator waits: 30 seconds is perfect, five minutes is hopeless. A unit nobody can reach scores nothing at all.
- Quiet: noise from the neighbours. Rooms side by side count fully; rooms above and below count half. Plant rooms, cinemas and fitness clubs are loud.
- View: higher is better, up to floor 15.
- Services: electricity, water, climate and data supplied, plus cleanliness and condition. Without a utility a unit is nearly worthless (see Utilities and staff).
Open amenities in the building make every unit a little more attractive.
Why prospects say no
The Leasing panel (⌥⌘L) counts every refusal by reason:
| Reason | What to do |
|---|---|
| No vacancy | Nothing they could use is free: build more of that unit type. |
| Too expensive | Lower the rent, for the building or for this unit. |
| Hard to reach | Add or improve elevators, or a closer stairwell. |
| Too noisy | Move loud rooms away, or put quiet rooms next to homes. |
| Poor view | Higher floors let better. |
| Poor services | A utility is missing, or rooms are dirty or worn: check the plant and hire staff. |
The unit inspector
Click a unit to open its inspector. It shows the tenant, their satisfaction and the score on each criterion. For a vacant unit it lists every tenant type with ✓ and a score when they would sign, or ✗ with the reason when they would not. It also shows the utilities, cleanliness, condition and the last leasing events.
Rent
- A unit asks its room's rent per metre × its width, 1 % more for each storey up, times your rent levels and the city's price level. A game day is one rent month, so rent comes in at every daily closing.
- Rent level in the Economy panel sets all rents from 60 % to 160 %. The unit inspector sets one unit's rent the same way. Higher rent earns more per tenant but scares prospects away.
- A signed rent is a contract: changing the level only affects new tenants.
Selling flats
A vacant flat can be offered for sale instead (Offer for Sale in the inspector). The price is 100 months of its rent, paid at once. The owner then pays you service charges of a quarter of the rent every month. Owners are patient: they leave only after nine bad reviews in a row, and then sell the flat on privately. A sold flat is no longer yours to rent, cut or demolish. Offices and amenities are always rented.
Satisfaction and moving out
Every morning at 06:00 each tenant reviews their unit; satisfaction moves toward today's score. After three bad reviews in a row a tenant moves out. The inspector warns you: "Unhappy for 2 days — leaves at 3".