Nobody likes getting complaints from their tenants. Also, it is indeed irritating when the loud neighbors are your tenants. Loud noise is subjective, and it is not bearable by a lot of people. The noise issue is a big deal; it can leave you feeling caught in the middle. Whether you are a landlord or a property manager, you must be clear on your tenants' noise issues.
Quiet hours is a solution to the noise issues, as it can eliminate the dispute. However, the tenant-renter complaints are never-ending, but implementing strict quiet hours can ensure that your management team is handling the issue; and not avoiding it.
Why is loud noise such a big issue?
Tenants are your customers and are obliged to provide them a comfortable environment. Being a landlord comes with significant responsibilities. Also, finding long-term tenants is a painful task, and to keep the overhead costs low, you must discover loyal tenants. However, tenant retention requires attention to customer service. Moreover, you need to ensure that your tenants are going to have a noise-free environment. Your renter holds the right to the implied warranty of quiet enjoyment.
Once you have given your property on rent, your tenants have the right to enjoy the property without any interference. Besides the regular noise, some noises may be out of control, and implementing quiet hours can eliminate disruption. In addition to this, enforcing quiet hours also shows that you are a responsible landlord; you are high-reasonable and concerned towards your tenants. Such behavior increases the chances of tenant retention, as you are taking reasonable steps to ensure that your tenants are comfortable under your roof.
Why are quiet hours a good idea for the rental property?
Quiet hour is indeed an effective idea to eliminate any disputes against noise issues. Moreover, implementing quiet hours also leads to a more managed and organized and living condition. For example, you can specify the timings of lawn mowing and operating certain appliances. Besides, you can also include this information within your rental agreement to reduce the chances of disruptive activities held at unreasonable hours. In addition to this, you can also specify the hours of maintenance and repairs issues. However, being a property owner, you are free to establish your own parameters for quiet hours. Nevertheless, you can be a bit lenient on weekdays; and start the drill sooner on weekdays.
How can you establish quiet hours for your rental property?
Well, this depends upon your property location as well. You cannot decide everything on your own. Your property's location will help you in determining the quiet hours. There are areas with laws against the excess noise about a specific range and have their quiet hour restrictions. However, you need to align yourself with the municipal regulations and establish the peaceful hour policy parameters. To avoid any issues afterward, include the quiet hour policy within your lease agreement. Once the policy is written in the agreement, it will be easier to remind the tenants about the local restrictions and law enforcement. Moreover, make sure that you have a good policy on breaking a late-night noise ordinance.
What can be the possible penalties for residents who cause disruptions during quiet hours?
Quiet hour policy is one thing, and other noise issues are another thing. You can limit the resident noise complaints; but, you may run into circumstances where other noise issues can cause a problem. For example, you may encounter a loud party held at 2 am. It seems like a real deal; this breaches the local noise ordinances and this far more than addressing a lawn-mower noise. Such issues can be challenging to handle. Therefore, your management team must have specific parameters for noise-reviewing complaints. Your rental agreement must have strict policies and penalties against such issues.
Moreover, you must write all the complaints and review them carefully. If multiple residents are complaining about the same issue, you must take this to your attention. However, you can send a formal warning to rectify the situation. Also, do not take strict action, as the tenant or the resident must not be aware of the problem. If the issue is not solved after the formal warning, you may release a penalty fee. But, the penalty fee must be mentioned in the lease agreement. In extreme cases, you may file for eviction.
How to review a noise complaint about warning or penalty?
As a landlord, you are responsible for a comfortable living environment. However, you should assess the following before sending a notice or releasing a penalty fee.
- What is the complaint's timing, i.e., close to the end or beginning of the quiet hours?
- Are any steps taken to reduce the noise?
- Is there any initial complaint documented against the instances of disturbances?
Well, tenants are your customers, and they are trying to enjoy their space before taking any action, making sure to look at the other side.
If you’d like to talk more about property management, or you need help with Everest Property Management, please contact us at Everest Realty.
As a top producing Realtor and Property Manager; Terry specializes in sales, extensive construction homes, rentals, REO’s, short sales, and all aspects of Real Estate. After graduating the University of Michigan with a master in MBA, Terry continued his endeavor and now has over 15+ years of experience in the Real Estate world. If there is anything that has to do with Real Estate and sales, you can always be sure of Terry to provide important, specialized knowledge.
