Every property manager has to deal with complaints from tenants, it comes with the territory. But if you can find a way to effectively manage issues as they arise and keep your tenants happy, you may be able to avoid excessive tenant turnover. Tenant turnover can be expensive and stressful, so it pays to avoid it as much as possible. Most of the time when tenants have a complaint, they just want to be heard and have their situation taken seriously. Being accessible and understanding can make your tenants feel like you are on their side and want to help them. You don’t have to solve every problem right away, but try not to be dismissive of issues that are brought to your attention. A good reputation built by listening respectfully to your tenants’ concerns helps you to retain quality tenants and also gives you a good reputation as a landlord (another surefire way to attract good tenants).
Stay Calm
Regardless of what comes up, always stay calm and professional. You want to put your tenants at ease and reassure them that you can and will help them with their problem. It is not unusual for tenants to become heated when sharing their complaints, but keep your cool and stick to the facts of the situation. Often, even if you can’t fully address their complaint right away, there may be other solutions that you can offer to appease your angry tenant. Try to think out of the box and work with your tenant to find workable intermediate solutions.
Be Prepared
Be mindful of possible tenant issues when you are creating your lease. When it comes to destructive or disruptive behavior, appropriate policies and clauses included in your lease can give you more power to handle situations as they arise. Many tenants are more willing to listen and change their behavior if they know that they are violating an agreement that they signed. Here are some of the most common complaints property managers get and how to handle them.
Most Common Tenant Complaints
Maintenance Issues And Requests
There are some maintenance issues that need to be dealt with immediately. Electrical issues, temperature control (depending on the weather) and water issues generally need to be addressed sooner than later. Typically, there are laws in place that specify how quickly these issues must be addressed. Other maintenance requests are usually not as timely, though your tenants may think that everything that comes up is an emergency. The key to effective management of maintenance requests is quickly acknowledging the request and communicating a time frame for addressing the problem.
Setting up a resolution management procedure or system will provide visibility into all requests; respond quickly and document all communications relating to the maintenance request. This can be done using specific software or a set of policies and procedures used by everyone in your office.
Lack Of Communication
One of the primary complaints that tenants have about their property managers is a lack of availability and communication. Create a streamlined system that allows you to be available to your tenants. This can be an email address that you look through and answer daily, it can be a certain time of day when you answer all phone calls and voicemails, or a staffed office where tenants can come in to ask questions. It can be tempting to avoid answering tenant calls and emails if you feel like they will put you on the spot or complain about something that you will have to respond to. Remember to stay professional in these situations. Communication helps make situations easier, not harder to deal with.
Noisy Neighbors And Other Disagreements Between Tenants
For multifamily properties, conflicts between tenants can be a major issue with consequences that range from unpleasant conversations to high turnover and evictions. Noise complaints are one of the most common, and the root cause can be any number of things. Loud parties, loud music, barking dogs and kids running around yelling can all be sources of noise complaints and tenant disagreements. If you’re lucky, the offender is also one of your tenants so that you can talk with them and control some of these issues by enforcing rules stated in their lease.
There are a number of options for dealing with noise complaints and other issues that arise between tenants. You can offer one of the parties a different unit if one is available. Usually just sitting down and talking with the offender to let them know that their neighbors have complained about their behavior is enough to correct the situation. If talking doesn’t work and the situation escalates to the point that a tenant has to be removed, remember that losing one bad tenant is better than losing the quality tenants that they are bothering.
Pest Infestation
Pest infestations are extremely common in multifamily buildings and also one of the least acceptable issues for tenants. Whether it’s bugs, bed bugs (classified differently than other bugs) or rodents, this is a problem that needs to be dealt with quickly and effectively. Again, make sure you are always communicating the plans and timeline for resolution to your tenants. Pest control is something that you should put in place at your rentals even if your tenants haven’t reported a problem. I recommend employing multiple strategies to mitigate the problem. Make sure that cracks and crevices are sealed, keep your landscaping neat, and hire a professional pest control service and you shouldn’t have to deal with too many tenant complaints (and if you do, you can assure them that you have professionals that you can call).
Handling tenant complaints is par for the course when it comes to property management. With the right attitude and policies in place, tenant issues can be handled professionally without causing the property manager too much stress.
Rhino Realty Property Management 
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