When you own rental properties, you must be prepared for all scenarios, including tenant complaints. Knowing how to handle complaints and avoid them in the future is crucial for landlords and property managers. So, what do you do when a tenant has a complaint? Let’s go over the most common tenant complaints and how to resolve them peacefully.
Contents of This Article:
- 5 of the Most Common Tenant Complaints
- How to Handle Tenant Complaints In Your Rentals
- Get Fewer Tenant Complaints with Rental Property Management
5 of the Most Common Tenant Complaints
No matter how well you maintain your properties, problems and tenant complaints can still arise. That said, it’s usually the landlord or property manager’s job to resolve them. After all, you want to maintain a good reputation for your business and keep all of your tenants happy. So, knowing some of the most common tenant complaints can help you avoid these scenarios in the future.
Here’s a list of the most common tenant complaints, and next, we’ll discuss how to handle them.
- Maintenance or Repair Issues
- Lack of Communication
- Pest Problems
- Too Much Noise
- Privacy Violations
Maintenance or Repair Issues
Maintenance or repair issues are one of the most significant tenant complaints. All rental homes require maintenance and occasional repairs–and staying on top of it is vital. After all, a minor maintenance issue can quickly become large if it goes unnoticed.
To catch issues quickly, it’s important to have a good maintenance request process in place. In your lease agreement, include maintenance procedures, so tenants know what to do if they need maintenance or a repair. Make sure you have your tenants document their maintenance requests and that you respond to them within an appropriate amount of time.
Maintenance and repairs should be done as quickly as possible, and your tenant may complain if it’s taking too long. So, have a maintenance worker address the problem, and follow up with your tenant afterward to see if the issue is resolved.
Lack of Communication
Communication is extremely important for landlords and property managers. It can be frustrating for tenants to rent from someone who never answers the phone or takes days to respond to an email. Whether someone has questions about a rental property, maintenance concerns, or other serious matters, it’s crucial to have prompt communication with your tenants.
Delaying communication or forgetting to respond at all can deter a tenant from signing a lease renewal. After all, tenants want to rent from someone they can count on. So, if you respond to issues right away and promptly answer your tenant’s questions, they may be more willing to rent from you again.
If you’re a landlord and you’re having trouble keeping up with all your rentals, consider hiring a property management company in Philadelphia. They can communicate with tenants, hire maintenance, and manage your rentals effortlessly.
Pest Problems
If pests invade your rental home, you’ll likely get tenant complaints. After all, nobody wants to live in a pest-infested environment. As such, when a tenant contacts you or your property management team about an infestation, it’s crucial to get it taken care of immediately.
Bugs and rodents can other pests can pose a health hazard and be a large inconvenience. So, it’s worthwhile to investigate the property and address the complaint as soon as possible.
Hire an exterminator to get rid of the infestation. Then, follow up with your tenant to ensure the problem is entirely handled. To prevent future issues, take preventative action and have your properties inspected regularly.
Too Much Noise
Sometimes, tenants will complain about hearing too much noise. Although it can be out of the landlord’s hands, tenants want to live in peace. So, your tenant may complain about noise whether it’s a loud party or a dog barking all night.
If another one of your tenants is causing the noise issue, it’s a simple solution. You can work with that tenant and ask them to keep their noise levels down or shift them to a different apartment unit, if possible. Remember, all tenants have the right to quiet enjoyment, so working to fix the solution is your responsibility.
However, if the noise comes from a different property or an outside source, it can be hard to resolve the issue. You can encourage your tenant to resolve the situation, or you can address the problem with the owner of that property. Either way, helping your tenant find a solution is the number one priority.
Privacy Violations
All tenants have a right to privacy, and if they feel it’s being violated, you may end up with some complaints. It’s important to realize that you can’t show up to an occupied rental property without informing your tenant first. So, if you need to access the property for repairs, inspections, or other reasons, you must provide advanced notice, typically 24-48 hours before entering.
On the other hand, if there’s an emergency and you need to enter the property immediately, you may be legally entitled to enter. If a tenant complains in this scenario, it’s best to consult with a legal professional before resolving the complaint.
To avoid privacy violation complaints altogether, make sure your tenants know when you’ll be at the property. Also, keeping communication open during this time is crucial.
How to Handle Tenant Complaints In Your Rentals
Even if you take preventative measures to avoid the most common tenant complaints, they can still arise at any time. As such, landlords and property managers need to know how to handle them. Here’s a list of steps to follow while working with tenants to resolve complaints.
- Have a System
- Respond Promptly
- Stay Professional
- Keep Communication Open
Have a System
When you present your lease agreement to a new tenant, make sure to include information about how to file a complaint or maintenance concern. That way, if your tenant has an issue, they know how to communicate it to you. This can help keep a record of the issue and ensure your tenant’s needs are met.
Respond Promptly
If a tenant files a complaint, it’s crucial to respond promptly. Even if you can’t fix the issue immediately, let your tenant know that you’ve received their complaint and you’re working to resolve it. If you leave them without a response for days, your tenants could become more frustrated, and you could damage your reputation as a landlord.
Stay Professional
Handling tenant complaints can be difficult, especially if you’re dealing with an extremely frustrated tenant. However, it’s important to stay as calm as possible and handle complaints professionally. If you lose your temper when your tenant is already stressed or angry, it can just add fuel to the fire. So, make sure you remain calm and understand where your tenant is coming from with their complaint.
Keep Communication Open
Open communication is one of the best skills a landlord or property manager can have. Actively listening to your tenant’s concerns and working to resolve the issue can make them feel heard and cared about. If something’s going wrong in one of your rentals, ensure your tenants know they can come to you with concerns.
Get Fewer Tenant Complaints with Rental Property Management
One of the best ways to avoid common tenant complaints is by hiring property management. With a comprehensive management team on your side, you can feel confident that your rentals are in good hands. If your tenants have any complaints, our professional property managers will work with them to resolve issues peacefully.
Bay Property Management Group offers full-service management, including tenant screening, maintenance, rent collection, and more. Contact BMG today if you need management services in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC.
