Top 5 Tenant Concerns in Multi-Unit Properties and How to Address Them

Managing a multi-unit property brings a number of unique challenges, as tenants often have different concerns than those who live in single-family homes. As a homeowner or a property manager, addressing these concerns quickly and effectively is extremely important for ensuring your tenants are satisfied and willing to stay in your property long-term. Below, we discuss the top five tenant concerns in multi-unit properties and how property owners, with the help of professional property management companies, can tackle these issues to create a better living environment for their tenants.

1. Noise Complaints

The Concern

When living in a multi-unit property, you are often in close proximity to other tenants, in most cases sharing walls, ceilings, or floors. This close living can lead to noise complaints, whether from loud music, heavy footsteps, or late-night conversations. Noise issues can quickly escalate into disputes among tenants and negatively impact the overall living experience.

How to Address It

• Enforce Clear Rules: It is important to immediately establish and communicate noise policies as part of the lease agreement. Quiet hours, typically from 10 PM to 7 AM, can help set boundaries. In some cases, it may be beneficial to post these quiet hours in common spaces to serve as a frequent reminder to tenants.

• Use Soundproofing Measures: Sound-dampening materials such as carpets, rugs, insulation, or double-paned windows can help to minimize noise transmission between units. As an added bonus, these soundproofing measures can also keep the noise from a busy street or nearby entertainment areas to a minimum.

• Respond Promptly: Address tenant complaints quickly and be sure to mediate disputes between tenants if needed so that the initial problem does not turn into a long-term issue.

How Property Management Companies Can Help

Professional property management companies are in frequent contact with tenants, so they can help to enforce noise policies and act as impartial mediators in noise disputes between tenants. They can also recommend and oversee soundproofing improvements to ensure that your tenants are satisfied.

2. Communal Parking Issues

The Concern

In densely populated areas like San Diego, parking issues are extremely common and a constant source of headaches for tenants and tourists alike. In many cases, multi-unit properties have less than ideal parking conditions in tight garages or tandem driveways. If other tenants or their guests are improperly parked, affecting your tenants ability to use their designated spaces, complaints and disputes are sure to arise.

How to Address It

• Assign Parking Spaces: Allocate a specific number of spaces to tenants based on the size of the unit or number of spaces available. Enforce rules to prevent unauthorized parking and be sure to hang signage warning violators of the potential towing consequences.

• Implement Technology: For larger buildings, parking management apps are a great way to streamline parking assignments and monitor availability. Gated entry can help to keep non-residents out of the garages in high traffic areas.

• Communicate Clearly: Be sure to provide tenants with a clear parking policy in their lease agreement that outlines rules and repercussions for any parking violations.

How Property Management Companies Can Help

Property managers can help to implement signage and systems that will enforce parking policies. Once again, they can provide impartial mediation in the case of tenant disputes over spaces. They can also coordinate with towing services while necessary, ensuring the fair use of parking facilities without involving property owners.

3. Safety and Security

The Concern

Safety is always a top priority for tenants. In larger, multi-unit buildings, concerns about break-ins can be increased due to higher foot-traffic and less familiarity between neighbors. Other issues that affect a tenant’s sense of well-being can include poorly lit common areas or malfunctioning security systems.

How to Address It

• Upgrade Security Measures: Installing security cameras, keyless entry systems, and securing locks for all units and common areas is a must for multi-unit buildings. In some cases, hiring on-site security guards can help put tenants at ease.

• Improve Lighting: It is important to ensure that all entrances, hallways, and parking areas are well-lit to deter crime. Lighting should be checked frequently to ensure proper up-keep.

• Encourage Community Watch: Enlist the help of other tenants by encouraging them to report any suspicious activity. Tenants that have a strong relationship with helpful property managers or owners will be more likely to report on any potential issues.

How Property Management Companies Can Help

Property management companies can perform an inspection of your building to assess your security needs. They will use their wide network of vendors to implement modern safety features and collaborate with security firms to protect the property. Property managers can also act as the point of contact for tenants’ security concerns, providing them with reassurance and swift solutions.

4. Shared Amenities and Common Areas

The Concern

Tenant amenities like pools, gyms, and laundry rooms are great selling points for tenants in multi-unit properties, but they can quickly become a point of contention if they are not properly maintained or if tenants feel that the rules are not being enforced. In multi-unit properties, you can have college students, senior citizens, and families with young children all sharing amenities, and their expectations for the cleanliness and environment may vary significantly.

How to Address It

• Establish Clear Rules: Be sure to post clear guidelines for using amenities, both in the lease agreement and in visible public locations. These guidelines should include strict hours of operation, cleanliness expectations, and responsibilities while using public spaces.

• Perform Regular Maintenance: Schedule routine cleaning and repairs to keep these shared spaces functional and appealing. In larger buildings where the common spaces receive a high-volume of daily visitors, more frequent cleanings may be necessary.

• Encourage Feedback: Regularly solicit tenant feedback to address concerns and improve the quality of amenities. A clear method of communication should be established on signage within these areas so tenants can easily reach out in case of any issues.

How Property Management Companies Can Help

Property managers for multi-unit buildings oversee maintenance of not just the individual units, but common areas as well. They will visit the property frequently to ensure that shared spaces are clean and rules are consistently enforced, reducing conflicts and promoting fair access. They can also use vendors from their network to handle repairs and can implement systems for amenities that require reservations.

5. Maintenance and Repairs

The Concern

In any type of property, tenants expect timely responses to maintenance requests. In multi-unit buildings, the heavy use of shared systems can lead to more significant issues. Whether it is fixing a leaky faucet in an individual unit or full-scale HVAC failures and plumbing emergencies, a prompt response and remediation is required to avoid complaints, frustration, and significant damage to the property.

How to Address It

• Regular Inspections: It is vital to conduct routine inspections to identify and resolve potential issues before they become emergencies. It is much cheaper to prevent a problem than it is to fix a broken system.

• Provide a Maintenance Portal: Be sure to provide tenants with an easy way to submit maintenance requests. Phone calls during working hours can suffice, but online portals or mobile apps are a quick and efficient way to collect requests at all hours of the day.

• Work with Reliable Contractors: Build relationships with a network of trusted vendors to ensure that any necessary repairs are done quickly, efficiently, and affordably.

How Property Management Companies Can Help

Multi-unit property management companies spend years building established networks of contractors and they can coordinate repairs 24/7, reducing response times and ensuring high-quality work. They can also maintain records of maintenance requests and track recurring issues to improve property upkeep and prevent widespread failures.

Contact LRA Property Management for Multi-Unit Property Management

Tenant satisfaction is key to maintaining a successful multi-unit property. By addressing common concerns like noise complaints, communal parking issues, safety and security, shared amenity disputes, and maintenance requests, LRA Property Management can create a positive living experience for your tenants that encourages long-term tenancy.

At LRA Property Management, we believe in proactive problem-solving to address issues before they escalate into major complaints, consistency with policy enforcement, and stress-reduction for property owners to ensure that you can focus on other priorities while maximizing ROI from your multi-unit property. Call us today to learn more!