Real estate investors who become a property owner soon discover that real estate investing is as much a people business as it is financial.
Tenants sometimes have disputes with other tenants in the building. In turn, a complaint is usually brought to the income property owner that is usually dealt with quickly to prevent things from becoming ugly.
But how much can a rental property owner do to resolve disputes between the people who occupy a rental income property like an apartment complex?
The truth is that most state laws restrict the amount of control and power a property owner actually has at an income-producing property. Even if you wanted to do something about the complaint, there is little could do.
If a tenant in the apartment building is annoying other tenants with loud music, for example, you are limited to speaking with the tenant or perhaps sending a letter, but that is about the extent of what you can do. You certainly cannot walk into the unit and turn the volume down or take the radio—that might get you arrested.
Eviction of the tenant is always a possibility, but if the tenant pays the rent on time, you would have to evict for reason of nuisance.
On the other hand, though you may not want other tenants to be annoyed by the rudeness of one tenant, you also do not want to lose an otherwise good tenant or create a bad situation with an eviction.
The best advice for the real estate investor is to explain to the complaining tenant that you will speak with the tenant in question, but if the matter does not clear up, the complaining tenant should contact the police and report the behavior of the problem tenant to authorities.
