The most difficult yet rewarding job for property managers or property management companies is keeping a tenant as a long-term renter. In reality, there is only one way to accomplish this and that’s by keeping them happy. While you may find that many of your tenants rarely complain, it pays to know how the company you hire to manage your rental property handles tenant complaints, whenever they arise.
A good property management team knows that if you want to build strong long-term relationships with tenants, you have to ensure that their complaints are quickly resolved. The property manager looks into all aspects of the building and tenants. Here are some suggestions:
- Be sure to document the complaint or problem – while many property managers have excellent memories, most don’t. By documenting complaints or problems as soon as you are aware of them, it could mean the difference between a happy tenant and one that finds another place to live.
- Determine whether or not a complaint is valid – handling tenant complaints will be one of the primary responsibilities that a property management company has to a tenant. However, there are always going to be those occasions when there are no valid reasons for a complaint. Complaining about the color of the living room walls is not a valid complaint considering they saw them when they were shown the property.
- Investigate noise complaints immediately – it’s important for a property manager to determine if the noise complaint is appropriate and legitimate. If the complaint is legitimate, it must be dealt with immediately. If it isn’t, the property manager needs to make the tenant aware of when there is a noise violation and when there isn’t.
- Prioritize each complaint – in situations where there are more than a single complaint, the property manager must always prioritize them, so that they are resolved in order of importance. As a result, you won’t have a situation on your hands where there is one happy tenant and 2 or 3 unhappy ones.
- Resolve the complaint or problem A.S.A.P. – a complaint regarding a constantly running toilet can escalate into a tenant getting upset and complaining to the property owner about their inattentiveness or ineffectiveness. That is why quick resolutions are important on part of the manager.
- Whenever possible, respond to the tenant in writing – naturally, you will respond to them when they alert you about a problem. However, when you put the complaint in writing and provide the tenant with a copy of the document, it assures them that the problem will be dealt with.
Since no two property managers or property management companies are alike, the way in which one company or individual handles a tenant complaint will differ from the way another company or individual will. The key is to hire a property management company that will address these issues in a timely manner.
