Maintenance issues for rental properties are a common issue that residents need to understand and deal with. Typically apartment residents must contact their landlord in order to take care of any maintenance problems or issues on the property or more typically, in the unit they are renting. This may be confusing as every apartment community has its own methodology and procedures regarding maintenance concerns.
When contacting the property to report maintenance issues, consult the management office or check your lease to figure out what the appropriate method of reporting maintenance problems. Some landlords mandate that tenants should contact them by phone or schedule an appointment to meet at their office. Other properties opt to have their residents file their complaints and maintenance requests online, typically through their website or online portal. Having residents submit their requests for maintenance online helps streamline the process for both the landlord and tenants. Your property management staff should be clear about how to contact them if maintenance issues arise. Typically, landlords will include this information in the lease, in a separate document, and on their property website.
Your apartment management staff should contact you in a prompt manner after you submit your request for maintenance. Typically they should contact you within 24 hours of your request. If they do not contact you or they are not clear about when they will be coming by your apartment, let them know that you would like to know when to expect the repairs to be completed. Keep in mind that high priority issues (i.e. a leak in the ceiling) are usually checked out immediately, while lower priority issues (i.e. dishwasher quits working) are dealt with 24 hours or later after you contact your management office.
A representative from the management team should contact you after the maintenance work has been finished. Following up with you is important and they should let you know if the maintenance issue is resolved. They may also let you know any important information regarding the maintenance issue. Further, they typically ask for yourt feedback regarding the issue and how it was resolved.
After the repairs are complete, make sure to keep any documentation that was provided to you by the management company’s maintenance staff or contracted service provider conducting the repairs. If there is a problem with the repair in the future, you will have the documentation regarding what took place during the last repair. If your property management staff used an outside company to conduct the repair, you will also have the cost of the first repair within your documentation. Furthermore, this safeguards you in the event that the management staff blames you for a faulty repair or claims you created the issue.
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