Dealing With Renter Complaints

• Print

Unfortunately, one of the things that is completely unavoidable as a landlord is having some of your renters complain. While some complaints may be completely understandable, other times it seems almost silly that such a thing would reach you as a complaint. However, many people either don’t want to deal with something themselves or truly believe that it is your job to mediate any issues they may have either with the apartment or other tenants. So what can you do when you have a renter that complains incessantly?
The first thing that you should always do with a renter complaint is listen and respond. This is especially true if the tenant does not complain often. Sometimes a renter will complain when they really just want to vent. Although this is annoying, you may have to deal with this. Always listen to a complaint and then make sure that your tenant knows you have received it. You may question what they want you to do about it, but the first step is to make sure that they know you have heard them. After all, we’ve all had times that we just want to get an annoyance out of our systems.
Some complaints you may want to tell your tenants to sort out themselves. This is especially true if they have gone directly to you instead of attempting to work it out as two adults. Ask if there have been steps taken. After all, if one tenant is doing something that bothers another, they cannot fix the issue if they don’t know that an issue exists. Sometimes people forget that talking something out can result in a change that is beneficial or favorable to both parties instead of going right to the top.
At the end of the day, the best thing you can do for a renter that is complaining is to listen. Make sure that they know you are there to talk and help a situation if needed. Sometimes, residents may have a fear of confrontation or may not even know how to get in contact with another resident. It is often better for you to receive a complaint than another resident to get a passive aggressive note which will automatically put someone on the offensive. Each case is different, but simply talking things out will work most of the time.