There are lots of attributes that make luxury vinyl tile (LVT) or plank (LVP) perfect for multi-family properties. Some of these benefits, like the ease with which the flooring can be disinfected, make luxury vinyl a great choice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These benefits include:

• Affordability
• Stain resistance
• Low cost of replacement
• Exceptionally easy to clean and disinfect
• Sturdy and durable enough to stand up to even the toughest tenants
• Looks great and doesn’t drive down the cost of the property or rental rates
• Doesn’t have some of the health and safety drawbacks of other flooring materials

Some flooring materials, especially carpet, are dust, dander and indoor-air pollutant magnets. If any flooring is going to make a home more susceptible to viruses, mold and bacteria, it’s carpet. Carpet is harder to keep clean, dry and thoroughly disinfected.

The dust mites and other allergens that carpet often harbors can worsen breathing problems for people in a household. If someone does get COVID-19, minimizing additional environmental breathing hazards, like dust, allergens and mold spores, can be vital, especially if residents have preexisting allergies or asthma.

Luxury vinyl tile and plank isn’t permeable or porous. The invisible wear layer is tough enough to withstand thorough disinfection. It’s one of the reasons luxury vinyl tile and plank is a popular flooring in health care settings.

You can learn more about Metroflor’s recommended care and maintenance on our website.

Why Is Luxury Vinyl Great for Property Owners and Investors?

Luxury vinyl looks great, is affordable and is exceptionally durable. Those three factors alone put it head and shoulders above some of the alternatives for multi-family applications.

Most property owners and managers aren’t installing natural stone tile or hardwood in traditional multi-family investment properties. Maybe they would install luxury flooring in particularly high-scale condos or luxury apartments in bustling downtowns where they can charge tens of thousands of dollars a month, but that’s not the reality for most multi-family property owners looking for quality flooring options that will last a long time and are affordable to install.

Some types of flooring will detract from property valuation. Renters aren’t buying the property, but the rental rate they’re willing to pay may be affected by the perceived quality of a unit’s interior. Luxury vinyl tile or plank can be an important component of that interior quality.

The authentic-looking luxury vinyl sold by Metroflor accurately mimics far more expensive hardwood flooring or stone tile. It offers the same aesthetic at bargain prices.

For property sales, luxury vinyl generally isn’t a huge boost to valuation (unless the existing flooring is a significant detriment), but it also doesn’t damage valuation like some lower quality flooring options might.

Maintenance is another legitimate concern for multi-family property owners. If you have solid wood floors in a rental investment property you will eventually need to refinish those floors. Refinishing is an expensive, inconvenient process that would likely necessitate displacing your tenants (and maybe they’re belongings) during the process.

Multi-family property owners also can’t really rely on tenants to treat the flooring with the respect it deserves. That’s not a big deal with luxury vinyl tile or plank since the flooring is highly durable, water resistant, stain resistant and can be relatively affordably replaced.

Mistreatment by tenants is a serious concern if the flooring is particularly fragile, expensive or prone to damage. Carpet may be cheap to replace and isn’t even that expensive to clean (unless spills cause deep stains), but what if your tenants don’t clean the floors or they allow mold and critters to take roost? You could have other tenants throughout a building living in potentially unsafe conditions because of one unit’s gross flooring.

Get Quality Without the Headache

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) is one of the more affordable flooring materials to install. There are several different installation options available with Metroflor luxury vinyl. Many allow for fast, affordable installation.

If one tile or plank is damaged it can be easily replaced with an undamaged piece. This is often ideal in a multi-family housing situation where tenants or their kids or pet might damage a single piece or section of flooring. With LVT or LVP, you likely won’t have to completely refloor a unit.

The durability is also a big plus. Tenants aren’t always the easiest on the flooring in the apartments they rent, but they often expect any damage or issues they cause to be addressed quickly. Water spills or other liquid mishaps can cause serious damage or lead to mold growth on flooring or underlayment, but that risk is dramatically reduced if luxury vinyl is installed.

Find the Perfect Luxury Vinyl Tile or Plank for Your Multi-Family Needs

If you are looking for a great looking, durable and easy-to-disinfect flooring solution for your multi-family properties, it’s hard to beat luxury vinyl tile or luxury vinyl plank from Metroflor. We encourage flooring shoppers to browse through our various lines of flooring, especially the highly water resistant Engage and Engage Genesis lines.

You can also find Metroflor luxury vinyl flooring distributors and dealers near you on our website. These flooring experts are great sources of information and expertise if you need to refloor one or several multi-family properties.

We suggest consulting them regarding installation methods that work best in a multi-family setting. They can explain which ones offer minimal inconvenience for residents and which methods allow for easy and affordable replacement of single tiles or planks.