Dealing with tenant complaints is my least favorite part of the property management gig, and this one is stumping me. Also, what vendor do I call to handle the noise complaints?!? In a quiet fourplex building, upstairs lady is complaining about the noise being made by downstairs single lady. The noises are things like slamming closet doors and walking around (and things that sound like normal living to me), but they are happening in the middle of the night and keeping upstairs lady awake. I've been getting upset emails in the middle of the night for the past two months. I talked to downstairs lady who is aware of the complaints and mentioned that she listens to her ipad loudly in the evening, but that's it. I guess I need to talk to her more and what - tell her she can't be awake in the middle of the night? Other people in the building don't hear anything. Do I need to go over there in the middle of the night to listen for noise to understand the issue? I'm at a loss on how to diagnose the issue and handle the people. Both tenants are on month to month tenancy, so asking someone to leave is always on option, but they both pay their rent on time and cause no other issues. Any suggestions on how to handle these mysterious middle of the night noises?

Upstairs tenant needs to realize that when you live in a situation like a fourplex, it's like living in an anthill. Her complaints of "noise" because someone walks around and "slams" (I'm going to guess closes) closet doors and thus she wants you to do something about this is unrealistic. Since others in the building have not complained, the issue may be with the upstairs neighbor. This is a little strange because, typically, a complaint would be from a DOWNSTAIRS neighbor complaining about noise from someone upstairs. Explain to the upstairs neighbor you've already discussed this with the downstairs person and she is aware of this. And frankly, turn your computer or phone off at night. There is no reason for you to get upset emails in the middle of the night. If the upstairs person remains unhappy she always has the option of finding another place to rent. She may be happier in a SFH. But the decision to move should be HERS, not yours. Gail

I would not get involved in tenant disputes to that degree. You have already mentioned it to the bottom tenant, so that's all you can really do. If the upstairs tenant wants to move out, then that's her choice.

@Mary Mitchell I don't use "quiet times" in my leases. I let everyone know that they are adults and need to be courteous to each other like regular humans living in any home. I am the landlord, not the go-between for neighborly issues.

I wouldn't get personally involved too much. The more you get involved, the worse it gets for you. I would tell the tenant that is complaining that you have talked to the other lady, and made her aware of the issue, if there is more nuisance, you should call the police. You should also let the troublemaker know that if the noise continues, then other tenants might call the police, and you can't do anything about it... Stay as far away from it as you can.. Low income tenants tend to be drama queens.. Ain't no one got no time for dat !

@Mary Mitchell if your posts are anything like the way you deal with your clients, then I think there is room for improvement. I care about my tenants, but I also know what my job is. I had a tenant complain that the neighbor closing the gate, or turning on their porch light, or walking past the neighbor's wall to get to their car at 4AM to go to work made her dog bark, which wakes her up. Who is at fault? Who is supposed to be "right"? How would you resolve the issue since doing anything will place the rights of one above those of the other? Rather than be snippy and childish, why not engage in the conversation? I am still unsure what your definition of unreasonable is, and that is pretty much what the entire discussion revolves around. I use a defined, measurable, enforceable metric (noise ordinances). What do you use?

Also, thinking more on this - if the closet door bangs shut, put something on it to dampen the sound -maybe weather stripping or some kind of bumper/buffer. As for the walking around, I assume it is non carpeted floors so suggest tenant toss down some carpet runners etc to help dampen sound, get softer soled slippers, etc. Always a way to work thru these things!

@Mary Mitchell define unreasonable. A person walking, or doing standard "life" activities when the other does not like it is not my issue. Unreasonable to me is something that violates ordinances. Where do you stop? One neighbor goes to work at 3AM, so starts their car in the morning, or showers, or uses their closet to get clothes to get dressed, etc. The other wakes up and doesn't like the noise. Which one's right of quiet enjoyment do you, the landlord, decide is allowed? More importantly, which of their right of quiet enjoyment do you decide gets infringed on? We both agree that tenants have the right of quiet enjoyment, but the question raised is, "What defines unreasonable interference?"

Well i am sure the lawyers here can chime in, but it *is* your problem and should be mitigated by the landlord if needed. Most people are reasonable. Someone getting ready for work at 2 am does not necessarily upset others if they arent walking on non carpeted floors with loud soles, slamming doors, etc. I honestly dont understand why a landlord would want to abdigate responsibility here. Usually these issues are simple to resolve, ask the noisey tenant to move tv off shared wall, put runners down, grease hingers etc etc But hey, I come from the business world where clients matter.

What to do about tenant noise complaints?

Julie MarquezPro Member

OP

Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes

7y

@Timmi Ryerson I agree that the place should be quiet, but I've never heard the noises and neither has anyone else, so I have no confirmation about what is going on! I've been in the hallway late at night and heard nothing. Good idea about the letter, just to let downstairs lady know that there are continued complaints. Communicating the issue is about all I can do. I tried my best to just listen to upstairs lady and help her feel cared for, but I think it's opened up to her complaining more.

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Julie MarquezPro Member

OP

Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes

7y

@Ned J. I totally agree with you, that's exactly how I feel. So nothing more that I need to do - easy.

@Bjorik Mutize I'll do a general letter for the effort, and hopefully that works.

@Jill F. Right, downstairs lady is not complaining about upstairs lady! My husband uses earplugs and white noise machine and I told her all about those solutions. We love our white noise machine!

@Amy A. She been a tenant since September, and I'm afraid she is just that type of person

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Julie MarquezPro Member

OP

Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes

7y

@Bryan O. I've never heard the noises, nobody else has, so I don't know how extreme they are, but it's not middle of night partying issues or anything that would require me to evict her or even ask her to leave. @Mary M. but yes, upstairs lady should have a habitat that she can sleep in without excessive noise. Our rental agreement says that this is a quiet building and extremely quiet hours are from 10pm - 6am. But what right does downstairs lady have to live her "normal" life at all hours of the day? I don't know if anything she is doing is "unreasonable."

@John Clark Upstairs has not talked to downstairs, should I just let them duke it out?

@Chinmay J. I agree, I'll make all parties aware

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Jeremiah Ashe

Investor · La Porte, IN · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 14 votes

7y

Unfortunately, these are activities of daily living. I agree with most others that it needs to be explained to the upstairs resident that these are normal activities and you really have no authority to tell the downstairs resident that they can not walk around and open/close doors in their apartment. You can also suggest the possibility of using some type of noise machine to drown out any noises that would wake the upstairs resident. White noise works by increasing the baseline level of noise so that when things such as doors closing, cars driving by, and/or downstairs residents using their ipad occur, the increase in volume is minimal compared to silence. Because of this, the upstairs resident would be less likely to wake up from noises coming from downstairs.

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Dennis M.

Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes

7y

Only a fool would get involved . The issue is you start taking sides then the other party feels animosity against you now and that could result is damage to your property , a difficult tenant , late payment or a vacancy . All bad things and no benefit to the landlord.people retaliate if they feel unheard and threatened ! the truth is Low income people cause drama *all the time . Their lives are in turmoil and frequent chaos . As the saying goes -misery loves company . Your much better off letting them talk and work it out instead of throwing yourself in the middle of it ! Your business is rent them a unit not be their counselor or babysitter .

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Jill F.

Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes

7y

Originally posted by @Chinmay J.:

...

Stay as far away from it as you can.. Low income tenants tend to be drama queens.. Ain't no one got no time for dat !

This has not been my experience at all. I get more complaints from my higher income tenants. I HOPE my lower income tenants call me when there is a problem because for the most part they put up with WAY more crap than I would and some of it I would be happy to fix if only I knew. Really, most of my experience with "drama queens" has involved tenants that I believe have some kind of diagnosable personality disorder or other real mental illness.

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Timmi Ryerson

Property Manager · Ketchum, ID · Member since 2016 · 277 posts · 132 votes

7y

I have solved the problem of tenants complaining. The issue can be that the tenant, who may be older, is lonely. If that is the case, any attention is better than none at all. Think of your kids here when they want attention from you. They will do what they need to get it. My software that I use to manage my properties has a message center. I can send messages to my tenants and they can message me. I have educated them when they sign their lease that the software is where they go to see statements and payment history, pay rent and send me messages. Voila! No more phone calls. I can see when a message is sent because I get a notification via email. So I log in and read the message and respond. 2 minutes top of my time. Everyone loves it. I highly recommend using a message center for all tenants, even the good ones. Smart Property Systems is the software I use.

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Michael Jones

Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 199 posts · 253 votes

7y

I would not get involved more than to say if it is severe then call the police. If it is not serious and you continue to involve me I will bring a 30 day lease termination letter for both units and will definitely flush out the problem.

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Julie MarquezPro Member

OP

Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes

7y

@Jill F. I'm afraid this person might have some other issue like you mention, but I am doing my best to respond to her appropriately.

@Timmi Ryerson I love how you have taught them how to communicate with you. I have a generic business email address and that's all right now

@Michael Jones Good thing it's not severe enough for the police! I definitely could ask them both to leave, they are on month to month agreements.

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Michael Jones

Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 199 posts · 253 votes

7y

If it isn’t serious enough for the police it isn’t serious enough for the landlord.

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Ned J.Pro Member

Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes

7y

I guess some people on here feels like "quiet time" means the place should be like a library during those time periods....and quiet enjoyment and peace and quiet in the their home means you could hear a mouse fart...

From all accounts it sounds like the tenants is making reasonable and normal sounds associated with life...normal opening and closing of doors......walking around....water running..... etc etc...those are all normal life sounds....not excessive in ANY way...... if you want absolute quiet, then buy your own place out in the middle of nowhere......you will NEVER find that in a multifamily atmosphere.

You have done your part ..... let the neighbors hash it out.

People will always complain when they have ZERO skin in the game for any form of involvement or solution....whine and complain and pass the baton to someone else to fix what they see as an issue. If you keep accepting the baton, they will keep passing it to you over and over and over for everything....

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What to do about tenant noise complaints?

What to do about tenant noise complaints?

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