The Property Management Shop

How to Fix Dysfunctional Tenants

by Marc Wilson

Q. One of my tenants has made some repair requests. He has never given me a key to his apartment, so I always must coordinate ingress, egress and repairs with him. Now he’s making unreasonable demands in terms of when I can enter his apartment. Coordinating his schedule with the vendors is impossible. What should I do?

A. I took a psychology class when I was an undergraduate at Berkeley. In particular, I remember a couple of lectures about displaced aggression, dysfunctional relationships and passive-aggressive behavior. Your job as a property manager and a member of the human race is to do everything in your power to avoid these psychological pitfalls. The fact that you do not have a key to your tenant’s unit means that you have a dysfunctional relationship with that tenant. Similarly, the fact that your tenant is not cooperating with you in regard to ordinary and necessary access and repairs means that your tenant has displaced aggression toward you and is demonstrating passive-aggressive behavior. Fortunately for you, avoiding these problems is easy.

First, if you manage an apartment unit, you have an obligation to have a key to that unit. You should have a zero tolerance policy in regard to this issue. Any good attorney can instruct you about how to establish the paper trail requesting a key to the unit—a trail that could very well lead to the eviction of the tenant should he fail to comply. You have every right to have keys to your units. Insist on this right.

Second, your rental agreement should specifically state that all repair requests must be made in writing. Do not accept any verbal repair requests. You should have a specific repair request/work order form for the tenant to use. This form should include a section for the tenant to authorize you to enter the apartment during a two-week period of his choice during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) to perform the work. The ideal scenario is that the tenant grants you access at the same time that he makes the written repair request.

Third, now you have a key to the tenant’s unit and a written repair request/work order from the tenant. There is no valid reason for you to have any verbal communication with your tenant. If your work order does not have a section authorizing you to enter the apartment, simply serve the tenant with a 24-hour notice indicating when you plan to enter the unit in order to make the necessary repairs. You always have the right to issue this 24-hour notice to enter his apartment for ordinary repairs during normal business hours. It does not matter if the tenant is not home. You must insist on your right to arrange for ordinary repairs on your time schedule. Your rental agreement should have a clause that states

You will acknowledge all written repair requests within seven days from the date you receive the repair request, and
You will perform all non-emergency repairs within 21 days of receiving this request. Although I always perform work requests on a much tighter time schedule, I know you will appreciate having defined time parameters in the event you are dealing with a difficult tenant (see> dysfunctional relationship, displaced aggression and passive-aggressive in your psychology text book).

Fourth, place absolutely all correspondence (for example work requests and their replies, work orders, written notices to enter the apartment, proof of work completion, etc.) in the tenant’s file.

To conclude, all material interaction with your tenants should always be in writing. You should absolutely insist on your rights relative to your ability to enter the unit, make repairs, assure your possession of keys and all other aspects of the tenancy. Do not take the easy way out nor pursue short cuts, for these routes will only lead to more work and liability in the long run.