Common Tenant Complaints and How to Handle Them Professionally - Article banner

Even the best tenants are going to have complaints from time to time. If you’re a responsive landlord, willing to maintain good relationships with your renters, you’ll want to hear those complaints and do everything you can to fix the problem. 

However, some tenants take things too far and bother you with petty complaints nearly every week they’re living in your home. 

How can you prepare for them, prevent them, and deal with them in a way that’s professional? 

In today’s blog, we’re looking at some of the most common tenant complaints that are heard by landlords, owners, and property managers. We’re also advising you on how not to make the situation worse. 

Slow Response to Maintenance

You’re always going to hear complaints from tenants if you’re not responding to their maintenance requests with a sense of urgency

When a tenant has a maintenance issue, we recommend you complete the repair right away – within 48 hours if possible. This will show them that you’re serious about their comfort, and it won’t give them time to complain that you’re not responsive. 

Emergency repairs obviously require an immediate and urgent response. If there’s a lack of heat in the home during one of Cleveland’s coldest winter days, you’re definitely going to hear some complaints if you can’t get it fixed within a day or two of the report being made. 

Review your maintenance process and make sure you have a consistent phone number for residents to use in case there is an emergency. 

Lack of Communication with Cleveland Tenants

We’ve found that avoiding or ignoring a tenant is not going to inspire them to stop complaining. It’s only going to deliver additional complaints. 

Why make things harder on yourself? Talk to your tenants. More importantly – listen to them. It’s important to have open lines of communication with your residents. Keep them up to date with what’s going on in the building or at their home and in the area around them. Always get back to them as soon as possible when they leave a message or send an email.   

If you’re easy to talk to and accessible to your residents, you’ll find that communication complaints are almost non-existent. Your tenants just want to know that you’re available when something’s wrong and that you’re willing to hear them when they’re upset. 

Noise Complaints in Cleveland

We rent out multi-family properties and duplexes, and those tenants will sometimes complain about the noise being made by their neighbors. As long as you know what’s going on, you can probably resolve the issue with the offending renters. Make sure the lease includes language that establishes quiet hours. 

Pest Control and Tenant Complaints

communicationDo you like having bugs running around your kitchen or rats chewing through the insulation in your attic? 

No, you probably don’t, and neither do your tenants. One of the most common complaints you’re likely to hear is about pests. So, have a preventative maintenance plan set up once a month for pest control to come out to any of your rental properties. This decreases the number of issues that arise with insects and pests. 

We know tenant complaints can go beyond those we’ve listed here. And things can get pretty ugly if you have a tenant who is drawn to conflict and drama. 

If you’re having trouble managing your Cleveland tenants and their complaints, please contact us at IIP Management. We work with owners in the Greater Cleveland area.