8 Major Renter Pet Peeves—And How to Address Them
It's not always sunshine and roses at an apartment. Here's what to do when residents complain.
As a current homeowner, let me tell you, living in an apartment was awesome. A broken toilet? AC on the fritz? Unplowed driveway? When I was in an apartment, this all was someone else’s responsibility. But, somehow, these are now my problem to fix? No thank you.
That said, apartment living isn’t all sunshine and fixed toilets. There are a bunch of things that annoy renters. And as a property manager, it’s your job to smooth things over. Here are a few renter pet peeves—and how to avoid them.
Pet peeve: Noise. Somehow, in every apartment building, every resident above the first floor is a tap dancer. Hearing your neighbors is never fun. Especially now when more people are working from home for at least some of the time, excessive noise is at minimum an annoyance and at most a hinderance for getting sleep or doing work. Solution: Enforce community quiet hours and make sure residents know how much carpet they should have to muffle some of the noise. This is even more helpful if it’s spelled out in the lease. Also, if you are getting complaints about an especially noisy resident, talk to them directly—don’t leave it to the complainer to have a confrontation.
Pet peeve: Offensive odors. Cigarette smoke can permeate. So can cannabis smoke (and now that it’s legal in a several states, it’s harder to control among your residents). And don’t get me started on food smells. I’ve been in enough offices where people decide to microwave fish, because some people are literal monsters. Who wants to live like that? Solution: Well-maintained HVAC systems. Let’s get some good ventilation going, people! And have any building smoking policies spelled out in the lease.
Pet peeve: Maintenance response issues. If an appliance is broken in a unit, renters want it fixed right away. They also don’t want to have to wait around all day for someone to show up. And on the opposite end, they don’t want a maintenance person just showing up out of nowhere with no notice. (And it’s always when you’re in the shower.) Solution: Clear communication and an easy-to-use maintenance request portal. People understand if another appointment is running long and you have to reschedule or come later. But let them know!
Pet peeve: Slow Wi-Fi. A person’s home is their castle. And in my castle I like to watch videos of cute puppies and stream Severance. Maybe do some work, if there’s time. It’s 2025. Fast internet is a necessity. Solution: Invest in a high-speed internet service for your residents. Duh.
Pet peeve: Construction early in the morning or on weekends. There has been construction work going on at my office for months, and, let me tell you, it feels like we’re working in the middle of Grand Central Station (we’re actually located across from there, thankyouverymuch). Construction can be very noisy and disruptive. People might be working from home or trying to sleep late. Solution: Again, clear communication. If people are coming to work on the building or on common areas, give all your residents advance notice so they can plan. Also, try multiple means of communication—they might miss the email, but not the signs in the elevator. And, if possible, try to coordinate construction work to only a few hours a day when people aren’t asleep.
Pet peeve: Gross garbage areas. Um, trash goes down the chute, not on the floor next to the chute. Brenda in 3G, I’m looking at you! Solution: Monitor the area and post rules. Make sure you’re regularly checking the trash area to make sure it looks good. And post signs sharing what people are supposed to do. (Stack pizza boxes? Break them down? Build a fort?)
Pet peeve: Not enforcing parking rules. You know that famous quote from Friends, “Joey doesn’t share food!” (Same, by the way.) Well, it also goes for parking spaces. If a resident is assigned a spot, then it’s their spot. No one else should be parking there. Solution: Make sure to intervene on the resident’s behalf, including having people towed if necessary. And once again, look to the lease! Make sure you spell out parking rules.
Pet peeve: Poop. Buildings that allow pets are great. Stepping on dog poop when you go outside—or worse, step in the elevator—is not. (And just you wait until all the snow melts…) Solution: Bags and garbage cans all over the property. And fine residents who don’t curb their dogs. There are even services where you can test the DNA in the excrement and find the culprit. What a time to be alive!
What are some other renter pet peeves and solutions? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Send a tweet to @MHNOnline, or send me a message on LinkedIn.
