Part of the many responsibilities of a landlord or a property owner, is to manage your tenants and address any issues during their tenancy. The speed and effectiveness in which you handle their complaints can affect the tenant-landlord relationship.
That’s why it is crucial to address concerns effectively to keep your renters happy and encourage them to live in your rental long term. While solving issues can be challenging, these problems are common and can be solved.
Here at Ridgewood Property Management, we will go over the most common issues tenant’s have and help you handle them.
A Few Pointers
Before we jump right into the most common issues, let us first establish some crucial reminders when overseeing your rental property and tenants. As a landlord, you must ensure that you have provided all possible ways for your tenants to reach you.
Giving tenants a way to reach you does not mean you must be available to them all the time. But, this should mean your tenants can rely on you whenever there’s an emergency.
Providing them with multiple ways of contacting you, especially during an emergency, gives tenants an assurance that you are there to help when the time comes.
When they contact you and share their concern related to your property, no matter how trivial, make sure to acknowledge it and address the problem.
All correspondence and receipts associated with resolving any issues should be written down. These recordings will come in handy when a dispute arises, or if the security deposit needs to be processed.
Now that you know how to be available for your tenant, let’s go ahead and discuss the top tenant complaints and how you can solve them.
Maintenance Issues
One of the most common and time-consuming problems that you need to face and resolve when owning a rental property is addressing repairs and property upkeep. This issue puts your tenants in a helpless situation since they cannot just call a contractor or fix the problem themselves since it is not their property. Tenants need to go through you in order to get the issue resolved.
It is important to be prompt with your response to maintenance issues. It is strongly advised that you visit the property. Once the root cause is identified, reach out to your contractor and have professionals handle the problem. When you leave it to the experts, the issue is addressed right the first time.
Respect your tenant’s privacy and always ask for their permission before letting your contractors into their unit. Coordinate accordingly and let tenants know how long the issue will take to be fixed.
When dealing with apartments or other multi-family properties, it is a good practice to check with other tenants if they are having the same issue. Also try to perform routine maintenance and provide the best renovations for your rental.
Noise Disturbances
Noise disturbance complaints are usually caused by neighbors. Before getting yourself caught up in between two parties, our initial advice is to have the complaining tenant speak with the disruptive neighbor and settle the issue between themselves.
However, if this has been done but the issue continues to exist, then it’s time for the landlord to step in. It is easier to resolve the problem if both parties are your tenants. You can remind them of the terms of their lease, and their responsibility to allow other tenants to live in peace and quiet.
The next steps will depend on how both tenants react and behave from that point forward. If the troublesome renter is not one of your tenants, resolution can be more complex. In this case, you would have to involve the authorities for a more direct to the point approach if the two people cannot resolve the issue on their own.
The best way to avoid this head on is to always include a clause in the lease agreement outlining noise policies and enforcing them consistently.
Next, focus on what you can control within your environment, which is investing in materials that help with noise-reduction. Examples include adding carpets, soundproofing rooms, and installing acoustic panels.
Pest Problems
Pests usually cause diseases, that’s why there is nothing more serious than facing a pest infestation in your property. This is also the fastest way to lose your tenant without them unjustifiably breaking the lease.
It is crucial that the approach you use is proactive: prevent pest infestations rather than cure them.
Pests in your property could include rodents, bed bugs, and cockroaches. Take all precautionary measures to avoid inviting them to your property. Have a list of trusted exterminators so you can easily reach out to them if you must address pest infiltration.
It is also important to hire professional cleaners and post reminders in the house so tenants can also help in keeping these pests away from the property. The best way to keep a rental pest free is to keep it clean. Make sure tenants understand their responsibilities so you can keep your properties free of pests.
Pet Complaints
Pet complaints are usually rooted in pet waste around the property, incessant noise, or displays of other aggressive behavior.
Similar to how you’d deal with a noise complaint, start by letting the complaining renter speak with the pet owner in order to attempt to settle the issue amicably. If they cannot come to a resolution, that’s when you must step in.
Proceed by giving the pet owner warnings. If the issue persists, ask them to remove the pet from the property. Involve the authorities when needed, but only as a last resort. You always want to try and keep both parties happy.
You may also want to perform a walk through inspection with your tenant, to ensure the animal is not destroying the property or living in an unsafe environment.
Bottom Line
As a landlord, facing tenant issues is part of the process. Be ready by always having a solid lease agreement for both landlord and tenant to reference.
If you’re having challenges managing your rental property and tenants, Ridgewood Property Management is here to help. Contact us today!
