Tips For Setting Up An Effective Tenant Complaint System

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Running and managing rental properties can be a full-time business, especially if you own a lot of units. One thing that may take up a lot of your time and energy is managing the complaints you receive from your tenants. Complaints are common with rental properties, but you will be able to better handle these if you have an effective system set up for this particular aspect of your business. Here are some tips to help you create an effective complaint system for your rental property business.

Inform the tenants of the methods they should use to voice complaints

When you find new tenants for units you have, it will be important to let them know exactly how they should deal with complaints they may have. You can do this by giving them a brochure or flyer that states the steps and procedures for complaints, and you will need to design the procedures they should use. As you create the list of procedures, keep these factors in mind:

• Encourage them to email their complaints instead of calling – An email is something you can read at any time, and it keeps a written record. Receiving an email about a complaint is also more convenient than receiving a phone call. Let them know that this is the best method to voice a concern, problem, or complaint, unless it is an emergency.
• Offer 24-hour services for emergencies – It's also important for your tenants to have a way to get ahold of you at all times when there is an emergency. A phone call to you or an answering service is often the best option for emergencies, and this would be something they would need to do if there was a problem that needed to be addressed right away, such as a plumbing leak or a broken furnace.

Handle the complaints timely and thoroughly

A second thing you will need to do is make sure you handle each complaint in a timely manner and a thoroughly as possible. When you make a habit of this, your tenants will soon learn that you care and that you are determined to remedy the problems they are having.

A good extra step to take to help you develop a system that works is sending tenants a letter several days after a complaint was received and addressed. This letter could be a short survey to ask what they thought about the way things were handled. If they fill this out and return it to you, it will offer a lot of feedback to help you improve the process you use for handling complaints.

If you do not have time to handle complaints from your tenants, you might want to hire a company to help you with this. Property management firms can take over these duties and many others, and this can be very helpful if you are short on time. 

19 May 2017