Dealing with tenant concerns and conflicts can be one of the most challenging parts of a landlord’s job. This is a great reason to partner with an Atlanta property management company. You can lean on your property managers to develop and maintain a tenant relationship that facilitates cooperation and consideration rather than disputes and complaints.
However, if you do find yourself managing your own property you’ll need to have strategies in place to manage the concerns tenants may bring to you. You’ll also need to know how to prevent disputes from escalating.
This is all part of protecting yourself and your property. It contributes to a healthy tenant retention program and ultimately, ensures your investment remains safe and profitable.
Tenant Concerns: Avoiding and Working with Tenant Complaints
Let’s take a preventative approach to tenant complaints.
Avoid them.
Sometimes, things will happen that are out of your control. A maintenance emergency will arise at a time that’s inconvenient for your tenants, they’ll be upset about the tree that crashes through the roof or the oven that stops working just as the Thanksgiving turkey is set to cook. When something unexpected occurs and you have an angry, frightened or stressed tenant calling, you’ll need to remain calm and professional because your tenants will likely be in a heightened state of emotions. Which is completely understandable.
Managing issues that you can resolve requires excellent communication, a willingness to support your tenants and a strong support network of vendors and contractors who can help you make repairs in order to keep tenants happy.
Establish a great relationship with your tenants before they move in. Share your expectations. Discuss the lease agreement together in detail so they understand what their responsibilities are and what yours are. Make yourself available and accessible.
Live by these 7 words: don’t give tenants things to complain about. Instead of leaving that maintenance request in the queue, respond to it right away, no matter how minor. If they’re complaining about a rental increase at renewal time, show them the market data that supports the increase and actually saves them money on the rent they’d pay if they moved.
Managing Atlanta Tenant Disputes
What if your tenant’s complaints are not about you, but about another tenant?
Maintaining a safe, inclusive, and welcoming community requires tenants to respect one another. You might find that your tenants, especially in a multi-family property, come to you with complaints about their neighbors. Maybe someone is playing their music too loudly or someone’s dog keeps leaving messes that aren’t cleaned up. There might be a parking dispute or a couple of people who just simply don’t get along.
On the surface, this may not seem like your problem.
But, it can become your problem. Encourage your tenants to work out their differences among themselves, but document any complaint that comes in. Investigate that complaint. If it leads you to discovering a lease violation, there could be grounds for eviction. If one tenant is making threats or causing a disturbance that becomes dangerous, you might want to make it a police matter.
Document the complaint, the conversations you have with all parties involved, and the outcome.
Conflict Resolution Starts with a Strong Lease Agreement
Tenant conflicts are often costly, time-consuming, and frustrating for all parties. A strong lease agreement can be effective in minimizing the number of complaints and disputes that arise. It can also provide some direction to landlords who aren’t sure how to proceed.
Manage disputes and conflicts proficiently with a thorough and easy-to-understand lease agreement.
Prevent misunderstandings among tenants.
When the lease is clear, detailed, and outlines all the terms and conditions of the rental agreement, you can prevent misunderstandings and misinterpretations when it comes to rent collection, renewals, maintenance, and neighbors.
Establishing how disputes will be managed.
No matter how clear and detailed a lease agreement is, conflicts and disputes can be inevitable. A strong lease agreement provides the framework for addressing disputes that occur between landlords and tenants. For example, if a tenant fails to pay rent or violates the terms of the lease agreement, the agreement should specify the consequences, such as eviction. This protects you and holds your tenant accountable, no matter how persistent their complaints may be.
Effective lease agreements can keep you out of court.
In some cases, tenant conflicts can escalate to legal battles. However, a strong lease agreement can help you avoid this scenario. If a tenant violates the lease agreement and must be evicted, the lease agreement can serve as evidence in court if necessary. Additionally, a lease agreement can help landlords defend themselves against unjust accusations made by tenants.
Leases and conflicts between tenants.
The lease will be especially important when tenants have conflicts with one another. This will be your starting point in terms of knowing what to do first. For example, a strong lease agreement will include quiet hours. If a tenant complains about their neighbor’s loud music in the middle of the night, you can reference this part of the lease when talking to the offending tenant.
A strong lease agreement can also help you avoid disputes and conflicts in the future by setting expectations for new and incoming tenants. When you use a clear and detailed lease agreement, you’re establishing a precedent for future renters.
Understanding how to manage tenant concerns and conflicts can help you provide a better rental experience to your residents. We want to support you in any way we can. By working with Atlanta property managers, you won’t have to worry about the details of tenant relationships. Managing the disputes and conflicts will be our responsibility.
We can tell you more. Contact our team at Clients 1st Property Management.
The Clients 1st Team brings you decades of combined real estate industry experience and over 30+ years of experience in property management in metro-Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Our award-winning team provides quality, reliable service for our homeowners, buyers, sellers, tenants and investors.