Calling About a Problem with Your Apartment

Fequently Asked Questions Apartment Resident Maintenance

Fequently Asked Questions from Residents: Apartment Maintenance

Check the Plumbing!

Most people are so impressed with the basic appearance of an apartment before moving in that they fail to check the plumbing. They don't bother to let the hot water run. They don't bend down and open the cabinets to check for water leaks and they won't take a look at the kind of water heater that is in the unit. Unfortunately, some landlords are hoping that the potential resident doesn't check for these things. Sometimes they prefer to wait until money is in hand before they make any necessary repairs. If the landlord does make some improvements, it may be just enough to band-aid the problem, so that he or she can save money. When this happens, a resident finds out real soon that all that glitters isn't gold and before long he or she is disheartened about the unit.

Save yourself a headache or two and find out what the trouble spots are before signing a lease and if you have already done so, be sure that you note your findings, take photos, and mark the day and time you talked to your landlord about the problems in your unit. Review your lease contract to find out what repairs your landlord is responsible for. If you don't see any improvement after repeated requests, seek legal representation, your city office and/or health department.

Nicholl McGuire

Where's Maintenance?

You pay rent each month for the luxury of having things like a pool, courtesy patrol and most of all 24 hour emergency maintenance. However, what happens when maintenance isn't doing their job?

Sometimes there will be those property management companies that pride themselves on exceptional maintenance service, but this doesn't happen often. Unfortunately, more times than expected, a new renter experiences a rude awakening after the first month of living at an apartment complex. Maintenance isn't moving as fast as they did during the early days. A typical service call is not answered within 24 hours, maybe 48 hours, 72 hours or as long as a week later. Sometimes service issues are never answered. Before long, the resident is spending his or her own money to fix a problem in the apartment even though management doesn't want that to happen. They fear that a problem in the apartment may not be fixed properly, so they want their staff to be the ones to fix it. But what's a resident to do when maintenance isn't showing up?

When management and maintenance aren't doing their parts, sometimes a resident will contact outside help like the police, Health Department, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, or contact an attorney. This is so that a case may be built against management for a future lawsuit. Disgruntled landlords may retaliate by finding fault with a "trouble-making" resident in an attempt to legally evict him or her or provide an option for a resident to leave the residence if he or she feels there is no way to satisfy him or her. However, many landlords will eventually get someone over to see the problem in the apartment. However, if a resident was to contact a workmen, outside the management company, most repairs would not be done because permission must be granted by the property owner.

Nicholl McGuire

When the Landlord Has to Enter Your Apartment

Those days will come where one's apartment dwelling will be visited by management. State laws require that a landlord give notice before entering one's unit. But unfortunately I have heard my share of stories of apartment management, maintenance and others not always giving at least a 24 hour notice. Most often when this happens it is due to an emergency.

Emergencies may occur in a resident's apartment such as: a water leak, electrical problem, rodent or insect nuisance, or some other problem. When this happens, usually a resident will need to clear the problem area. He or she should also pack up valuables.

There are usually sections within the lease contract that outline when staff may enter a unit including when a resident gives notice to move, so pay close attention to your lease during signing and periodically review it. Some residents are taken by surprise when their unit is already being marketed to the public before boxes are packed and they are already moved out. The inconvenience of having a stranger walk through your apartment can be irritating. One way around this is to compromise on when apartment staff can come view the apartment or simply refuse when staff show up.

I have been on both sides of the fence, the one showing the apartment and the one living there; therefore, I have mixed emotions, but I usually make the right decision when it comes to getting things done in the apartment unit. I tend to be more empathetic for staff then I would have ever been had not worked as a leasing consultant and apartment manager.

One of the biggest issues that maintenance has with residents is when they either don't report a problem or wait until it is so bad that they complain. Whenever there is a leaky faucet, watermarkings on a ceiling, a crackling sound behind a wall, lightbulbs having to be changed often, a bad odor, or frequent visits from bugs, there is a problem. Don't wait simply because you don't want to be inconvenienced, make a phone call, then another until something gets done.

Nicholl McGuire