Unfortunately for rental property owners, not all tenants are easy to get along with.  Experienced property managers like Martin Feinberg know that, despite good screening techniques, difficult renters still sometimes slip through and end up signing a lease.  When that happens, understanding how best to move forward in dealing with difficult tenants, and keeping neighbors and/or other tenants happy as well, is essential.

Below are five things that a professional property manager can do to work with a trying tenant.  They are:

Listen

Sometimes a tenant becomes well known for their constant complaints.  When that happens it can be tempting for property managers to begin to ignore the continuous grievances.  However, ignoring a renter who wants to be heard can end up making the problem even worse.   A good property manager should always listen and try to resolve their tenants’ complaints.  Sometimes, or in the case of a difficult tenant—often, a property manager won’t be able to resolve the issue to the tenant’s liking, but they can still validate the renter’s feelings when possible.

Be Dependable

Some tenants start out easy to work with, and then become difficult over time. When this happens, it might be a sign that the problem is the property manager as much as the renter.  Landlords need to follow through on the things they say they will do.

Communicate 

If an issue is going to take some time to resolve, property managers need to keep tenants updated on the process.  Even difficult renters can be appeased if they know what’s going on and are kept in the loop.

Document Everything

A comprehensive lease can go a long way towards keeping difficult tenants at bay. Property managers need to have all rules and regulations in writing so that they can easily remind tenants what they agreed to when they signed the lease.  If worse comes to worse and eviction becomes necessary, a good lease with plenty of documentation can make that process much easier as well.

Remain Professional

Though it might be tempting for property managers to sink to a difficult tenant’s level, doing so never helps anything.  In the long run, kindness and professionalism can go a long way.  And even if it doesn’t help relations with the tenant, at the very least it sets a good example to employees and others who are aware of the situation.