Six Things that Bother Tenants the Most
Our initial decision for choosing to live in an apartment, instead of buying a house right away, was that we wanted to know for certain that we really wanted to make this area our permanent home. We were sort of “auditioning” the town to see if it fit us and we fit it. Why buy a house, we reasoned, then find out we hated the city its in and end up being stuck here? It took a few years for us to determine that we wanted to stay here in Las Vegas. Financial setbacks and increased housing prices, however, forced us into remaining as apartment dwellers longer than we intended.
There are obvious differences between living in your own home and residing in an apartment.
There can be perks, such as lower maintenance and the fact that the landlord takes care of carpet cleaning, appliance repairs and other inconveniences that, as a homeowner, would have been your headache and come out of your pocket.
There are also a number of negatives in apartment life.
I spoke to other individuals who are renters and came up with six things we agreed are our top annoyances and concerns.
Lack of Communication from Apartment Management
While my husband and I have been fairly blessed in being able to effectively communicate with whomever the current apartment manager happened to be at the time, not everyone is so fortunate.
“My resident manager just blows me off!” complained one of my friends, who lives in a tiny apartment in a beachfront community in Virginia. “Every time I complain about something, she promises to do something about it, then fails to follow through on it.”
Some people I spoke to said they have had instances when they call their resident managers and the calls are not returned at all.
“When I was late on my rent one month,” one disgruntled tenant said,” you can believe I heard from the manager right away! But, any other time, she ignores my existance or takes her sweet time getting back to me.”
Apartment managers, like anyone else, hate to hear grievances. Unlike a store, however, which feels compelled to do what it can to please their customer in order to keep their business, your apartment manager knows he or she has got you over a barrel. If you have signed a lease, you have to pay for the duration of the time agreed upon in your lease contract, whether you like what’s going on at your apartment complex or not.
Pest Control Issues
They had an “amusing” piece on one of the area news stations the other evening about making the cockroach the official state insect.
We were not smiling.
It only takes a few residents who bring pests along with them in their packing boxes when they move to cause an infestation in an apartment building and even the entire complex. Who can rest easy knowing roaches or mice or rats are running around in the place you live?
While it’s important for you to make certain you keep your apartment as clean as possible, sometimes that isn’t enough, if your building is overrun with despicable pests. In that event, it becomes a safety issue, especially if you have children.
Having to use toxic store brand insecticide can cause another health problem for both humans and pets.
This used to be the kind of problem relegated to low-income areas, but I am hearing more stories from people who reside in “regular” neighborhoods who are experiencing this as well.
No matter where you live, you should not have to put up with such a thing.
Loud Tenants
During our seven years as apartment residents, we have had the displeasure of living near people who apparently believed they had the right to blast their music to ear-splitting decibels. I can recall a host of neighbors who lived above us, beside us and across from us causing undue mental frustration. On one occasion, an apartment full of young college-age guys played rap music for fourteen hours straight. I am not kidding you, because we watched the clock, since we were obviously not going to get any sleep. Since that time, we have alternately dealt with fellow tenants with loud, barking German Shepherds, a karaoke machine, an amplified bass guitar and a couple having domestic arguments.
” I lived under neighbors who must have been in heat 24 hours a day!”one of my best friends described her experience when she lived in a Trenton, New Jersey apartment. “I understand that couples have the right to do their thing, but these folks were noisy to the point of distraction, almost like they had turned up the volume on a porno movie!”
Other complaints for apartment inhabitants have included late night parties and people whooping it up outside in the wee hours.
Sure, everyone should have the privilege of being able to play their music or listen to their television or enjoy their lives, but not at the expense of others’ peace. When their noise becomes disturbing or nerve-shattering or down right rude, there is a viable cause for protesting.
People Parking In Your Assigned Parking Space
We live in a 24-hour town, but, even if you don’t, you want to know that, no matter what time of day or night you choose to leave and come back to your apartment, your assigned parking space is available.
Unfortunately, there are thoughtless people who believe it is their right to park wherever the heck they feel like it. There is nothing more irksome than driving into the parking lot after 9 p.m. to discover that some huge SUV is in the spot designated for your vehicle and that the likelihood of that person coming to move their monstrosity is slim to none. If you are handicapped and end up having to park your car a long distance away due to your parking space being commandeered, it is especially aggravating.
Our apartment manager has warning stickers put on vehicles parked where they don’t belong, but not every complex does this.
I know of one woman who works a late shift and who comes home in the wee hours. She told me she has come back home on numerous occasions and found another car parked in her allotted space. Imagine how scary it is to have to park much further down in the guest parking section and walk all the way back to your apartment late at night in a poorly lit area.
Lack of Proper Security
This is a prevailing issue with many apartment complexes.
Where we now live, there was no working security for a number of months. Even though our apartment manager provided us all with a number to call for “courtesy patrol” concerns, we discovered, to our dismay, that this so -called patrol was not even active. Though we were told that they were “looking into contracting with another company,” nothing has been done yet that we know about.
In the past year, we have had our car broken into twice and someone tried to take the front license plate off. We understand that we ought to consider ourselves blessed, as other residents have had their vehicles vandalized.
In listening to others who live in apartments, they have had similar experiences, some noting that groups of older teenagers are allowed to roam about at all hours, with nobody daring to deal with them. Most residents, they say, are too afraid to confront them, for fear of retaliation.
When people are paying rent, they have a right to demand that personal safety concerns be addressed by their landlord, particularly if they have been promised that there is or will be a working patrol.
Problems with cleanliness
I will just come out and say it. Some people are slobs. If they want to keep their individual apartment in disarray, that is their business. When they start throwing garbage from their balcony or patio, when they leave garbage bags outside their doors all night long or when they throw food, dirty diapers and other completely gross and filthy items on the walkways and grounds, then their fellow tenants are affected.
I have seen occasions when debris and filth were scattered on the ground in front of all the garbage bins because of individuals putting everything except garbage in the bins. Everything from love seats, office chairs, bicycles, etc. are piled up, so that there is simply no room left to put garbage in the thing and all the garbage is festering on the ground in front of the bins.
This is also a reason that prompts the problems I mentioned earlier regarding pests.
I know of an irritated tenant who got so tired of seeing food wrappers, etc. thrown out in front of his apartment that he simply picked up the mess and flung it in front of the apartment of the persons responsible for it..
I don’t suggest that you follow suit, since you don’t want to put yourself in jeopardy, in case the offenders are both messy and violent.
Crappy plumbing ….literally!
There are three things certain in life …death, taxes and the fact that you will have to use the bathroom at some point every day.
Does it just drive you over the edge when you have continual problems with your toilets backing up, drains getting clogged and shower not running properly?
Flushing the toilet should not be a “high risk” behavior, but there have been times we have been very much on edge, hoping things didn’t overflow again because of the low water pressure.
Perhaps you’ve even had times when you were not informed that the water would be turned off for a few hours, meaning forget about that shower you planned to take before going to the doctor’s office.
Ever had to bail water when your Brand-X apartment-supplied washing machine flooded, to keep it from saturating your carpet? In this age of West Nile Virus, who wants standing water in your apartment?
Worse, is having to wait and wait and wait hours, even days, for someone to come make repairs.
Solutions????
…Contact the resident manager of the complex. The most effective means of communication is to send a letter regarding a particular concern. Sending a letter makes it an official matter of record and provides proof that you did attempt to get a resolution to an issue. We’ve found that calling solely by telephone means that you have a bigger chance of being blown off or given some quick excuse. Calling as a backup to written correspondence you sent to them, however, is good. Always keep a copy of any letter you send to your resident manager.
…If a concern is continually ignored, try to enlist the help of other tenants to get your resident manager to deal with what is bothering you. In our complex, for example,when residents were disturbed about the increasing pest control issues, one tenant knocked on doors and asked other tenants to sign a petition. The petition stated that this was now a health issue and that further ignoring of our demands to get it remedied would result in a complaint, along with a copy of the petition, being sent to the public health department. Within a week, exterminators were sent out to fumigate several of the apartment buildings.
…If you have noise issues, you can try the route of going over to the offending neighbors in question and asking them, politely, to please turn down the volume of their music. I have seldom,though, found this method to work for anyone, because most of the folks who crank up their stereos are generally the exact jerks you thought they were. If informing your resident manager or calling your apartment security patrol (if you have one) doesn’t produce changes, call the police, if these loud folks persist in pumping up the volume for hours at a time. Keep a log of all days and times you are having noise-related problems with a particular neighbor.
…If you fear theft problems, get an alarm for your car, if you don’t already have one. Make sure that it makes as piercing and loud a noise as possible Also, get anti-theft locks for your steering wheel and brakes. For safety in your individual apartment, have timers for your lights and television set, if you plan on being out for awhile. You may even want to consider getting a dog for protection- just remember that you have to be careful about barking issues. If you are going to be out of town, consider getting someone you know and trust to “apartment sit” for you. That’s what one of our neighbors did every time he went on vacation in Florida for a couple of weeks.
…If someone continually parks in your parking space, get their license number and make your resident manager aware of the infraction. If he or she does nothing about this, then next time an individual parks in your space, call a towing company and have their vehicle removed.
…If you’ve tried everything you know to resolve an issue with your landlord and still have not received satisfaction, it may be time to turn it into a legal matter. Some states have landlord-tenant dispute lawyers. Others may have conflict resolution programs, where an attempt of mediation is made, without the use of an attorney.
Nothing working for you?
THEN, MOVE!!
Life is stressful enough as it is. I know that moving is easier said that done, but continuing to stay where you are disrespected or put in harm’s way is a big motivation for seeking out somewhere else to reside. Ask friends for some recommendations, buy local apartment guides to find out what else in available within your economic range, search the newspaper for vacancies. It may take a bit of time to find another apartment, but it’s well worth the inconvenience of moving to have some peace in your life.
Remember …home is supposed to be your haven!
