Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
So, it finally happened. After almost 8 months of harmony I have my two tenants in the lower units not getting along.
A very peaceful family in the unit that boarders the laundry room are complaining of late hour (After 11PM) laundry use by the other tenants and believe they are doing it to annoy them.
So, I don't see a reason anyone should use laundry that late but I want to work on limiting access.
What are my best options? Timed door lock, those seem pricey. Or possibly a timer on the outlets but I'm not entirely sure those can't be tampered with.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
Try the letter, if it doesn't work you could do a lock but it is possible that they don't intend to annoy, that is just the way they live. I do laundry in the night but I don't live in an apartment. You could also post hours on the door to the laundry. In an apartment I would also disconnect those buzzers that announce the dryer is done.
Investor · Thermopolis, WY · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
@Tim G. you might just do a letter to all of the tenants. In consideration for all tenants we are stopping use of the laundry facilities from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am or something simple like that.
Real Estate Investor · Hampton, VA · Member since 2012 · 562 posts · 109 votes
12y
I would send a letter to all tenants reminding them of the common courtesy of the neighbors and noise - reference the section of your lease if that's in your lease as well as notifying them of the new hours to the laundry once you decide on a resolution.
I would look into a timed door lock which locks automatically at a certain time and unlocks at a certain time. Although it may be expensive, it may be worth it in the long run for your current/future tenants.
Personally, I do all my laundry at night or the early hours of the morning.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
Try the letter, if it doesn't work you could do a lock but it is possible that they don't intend to annoy, that is just the way they live. I do laundry in the night but I don't live in an apartment. You could also post hours on the door to the laundry. In an apartment I would also disconnect those buzzers that announce the dryer is done.
Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
12y
I have a harder time someone would do laundry at late hours simply to annoy. When I was in college I always do my laundry at weird hours. Why? I have to stay up late at night to study might as well do laundry then it minimizes the chance of running into someone else doing laundry at the same time and have my load removed from the dryer etc...
A lock could have the potential issue of locking someone's clothes out. They might have done the laundry at 9pm but didn't make it to the dryer to collect until 11:01pm and now they have no access, and if it's a uniform they need to put on the next morning for work at 7am they might call you at 11:30pm to ask you to unlock so they can get at it.
Personally I would have a talk to the late hour laundry tenant and get a better understanding on why the late hours before implementing any policy, and find out from the other tenant who complained what is the objectionable noise was it the washer agitating, was it the quick pressure draining of the water, was it the dryer buzzing when done etc...to make sure there isn't a solution before implementing a policy or a lock.
Sometimes when tenants don't get along there is an underlying reason and what they complained about are the petty stuff that annoyed them but not the real reason.
if you limit access you might find you are just transforming one problem into another and you now have tenants that don't get along because they are trying to do laundry at the same time. One says they removed their clothes from the dryer and dropped a pillow case on the dirty floor and the other said he didn't want to but had to start the dryer so it would be done by 11.
Property Manager · Big Bear Lake, CA · Member since 2013 · 585 posts · 330 votes
12y
Sending a letter is probably your best bet. Then add the laundry room hours to the lease from now on. It would be really easy to just prop the door open before the lock out time if it locks automatically.
If you have someone living there that you trust, you could give them a little off their rent (or other compensation) to go lock the door manually every night, then unlock it in the morning.
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
12y
How about some better sound insulation between the laundry room and the living unit? Its entirely possible the tenant using the laundry late at night is using it then because that's the best time for them.
I would talk to the tenant.There is a very good chance they are not doing it on purpose. Personally I always did my laundry late at night. I would figure out what is going on. Maybe if everyone communicated what is going on. It might fix the issues.