Maybe you don’t pay much attention to tenant complaints because it feels like your tenant is always complaining. That can be difficult to manage. However, there are times where a tenant may be justified in complaining, and you’ll need to know how to provide a resolution that works for everyone.
Even when your tenant is needlessly or endlessly complaining, you still have to respond professionally.
As professional Sonoma County property managers, we have likely heard every complaint you can imagine. We’ve put together a short list of the most common tenant complaints, as well as what you can do to handle them correctly – without escalating the situation or causing further conflict.
Sonoma County Tenants Complain when Maintenance is Ignored
Tenants don’t like to continue paying rent when there are things in their home that are broken or failing. If a tenant has requested maintenance but you haven’t done anything about it, you can absolutely expect a complaint.
Don’t take these complaints personally. Remain professional and respond quickly. Every repair request deserves a sense of urgency. If something is going to take longer than the tenant would like, explain why. Sometimes a simple explanation can make them feel better about the situation. Sometimes, nothing will please that particular tenant. Document the complaint and the correspondence. You cannot work miracles, but you can tell tenants what you’re planning to do about their problem and when they can expect it to be resolved.
Tenants Complain when There’s no Communication
Another major complaint tenants have is that they can’t get their landlords to respond to their messages or phone calls. We know you’re busy – everyone is. However, you cannot ignore your tenants. If you leave messages unreturned and phone calls unanswered, you run the risk of damaging your relationship. You don’t have to pick up the phone every time they call. Feel free to set some boundaries, especially with the tenants who tend to call every day. Just make sure you respond when there’s a concern or they need help. Even if you can’t solve the problem yourself, direct them towards other resources or support networks that can help. Don’t leave them hanging.
Tenants Will Complain about Money
Like you, tenants are protective of their money. They don’t want to pay more than they have to for anything, including housing. If you decide to raise the rent more than you should, you’re going to lose tenants. If you’re refusing to be flexible when rent is late one month, you might get some angry words directed in your direction.
Rent increases are to be expected, but don’t chase away good tenants with unreasonable rent hikes. Make the payment of their rent easy by offering online payments, electronic transfers, and single payments instead of separate bills for rent, water, pets, and trash.
Consider Professional Sonoma County Property Management
The best way to manage your tenant relationships and to avoid complaints and disputes is to work with a professional Sonoma County property management company. We don’t just take care of the leasing, management, and maintenance. We also take care of all tenant relations. With your management team as the tenant’s point of contact, you don’t have to hear the complaints or deal with the disputes.
We can help you manage your Sonoma County tenant complaints. In fact, we’re pretty good at avoiding complaints altogether. We believe in respectful, positive tenant relationships based on trust and communication. Contact us at Prestige Real Estate & Property Management and we’ll tell you more. We manage homes in Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Windsor, Sebastopol, Petaluma, and Rohnert Park.
