Every rental property owner hears them eventually: the maintenance request that “never got fixed,” the neighbor who plays music at midnight, the mysterious noise in the walls. Tenant complaints are a normal part of owning rental property in Spokane and Kootenai County but how you respond to them is anything but routine. Handled well, complaints become opportunities to retain good tenants and protect your property. Handled poorly, they turn into vacancies, legal exposure under Washington’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18), and one-star reviews that make your next unit harder to fill. Here are the complaints we see most often and how to resolve each one before it costs you money.
MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS
1. “My Repair Request Is Being Ignored”
Slow maintenance response is the single most common tenant complaint and in Washington, it is also the one with the clearest legal teeth. Under RCW 59.18.070, once a tenant gives written notice of a defective condition, the landlord must begin remedying it within specific timeframes: 24 hours for loss of hot or cold water, heat, or electricity, or a condition that is imminently hazardous to life; 72 hours for a broken refrigerator, range, oven, or major plumbing fixture; and 10 days for everything else. Miss those windows and tenants gain remedies that can include repair-and-deduct, rent escrow, or lease termination.
How to resolve it: Acknowledge every request the same day, even if the fix takes longer. Give the tenant a realistic timeline, document the request and your response in writing, and follow up after the work is done to confirm it was completed properly. Most “ignored request” complaints are actually communication failures the work was scheduled, but nobody told the tenant.
NOISE AND NEIGHBORS
2. “The Neighbors Are Too Loud”
Noise complaints are tricky because the problem usually isn’t your property it’s another person. In multi-unit buildings, one inconsiderate tenant can drive out two or three good ones. And quiet enjoyment isn’t a courtesy; it’s an implied right in every Washington State lease.
How to resolve it: Take every complaint seriously and investigate before acting. Ask the complaining tenant to document dates and times. If the noise source is another tenant, issue a written lease-violation notice referencing your lease’s quiet hours or nuisance clause, and escalate consistently if it continues. If the source is outside your property a neighboring home or business point tenants to the appropriate city resource, such as Spokane’s non-emergency line for ongoing noise issues. Consistency matters: enforcing rules against one tenant but not another invites fair housing complaints.
PESTS
3. “There Are Mice / Ants / Roaches in the Unit”
Pest complaints spike in Spokane every fall as temperatures drop and rodents look for warmth. Under Washington law, landlords are generally responsible for maintaining the property free of pest infestations, unless the infestation was caused by the tenant’s own conduct.
How to resolve it: Respond fast pest problems compound weekly, not monthly. Send a licensed pest control professional to inspect and identify the cause, then treat and seal entry points rather than just baiting. Document the treatment and the findings on cause. If housekeeping is a contributing factor, address it in writing as a lease compliance issue, but treat the infestation first. A $200 pest control visit is far cheaper than a vacancy or a habitability claim.
The cheapest complaint to resolve is the one you address the first time it’s raised.
COMMUNICATION
4. “I Can Never Reach Anyone”
Behind almost every escalated complaint sits a simpler one: the tenant felt unheard. Tenants who can’t reach their landlord don’t stop having problems; they stop reporting them. Small maintenance issues go unmentioned until they become expensive ones, and lease renewals quietly turn into move-out notices.
How to resolve it: Establish clear channels and stick to them. Tell tenants exactly how to submit maintenance requests, how to reach someone after hours in an emergency, and how quickly they can expect a response. Then meet that standard every time. At Apex Property Management, residents submit requests through an online portal that timestamps every request and response which protects owners just as much as it serves tenants, because documentation is your best defense in any dispute.
PRIVACY
5. “The Landlord Shows Up Unannounced”
Washington law is specific here: under RCW 59.18.150, a landlord must give at least two days’ written notice before entering a unit for repairs or inspections, and at least one day’s notice to show the unit to prospective tenants or buyers. Entry without proper notice even with good intentions is a statutory violation that can carry penalties.
How to resolve it: Put every entry in writing, state the date, approximate time, and purpose, and enter only at reasonable times. If a tenant raises this complaint, treat it as a compliance warning, not a personality conflict. Owners who self-manage often stumble here simply because they think of the property as “theirs” but once leased, the tenant’s right to possession controls.
RENT AND FEES
6. “This Charge Isn’t Fair”
Disputes over late fees, utility bill-backs, and deposit deductions generate more small-claims filings than any other landlord-tenant issue. Most of them trace back to the same root cause: charges the tenant didn’t understand or wasn’t told about clearly at lease signing.
How to resolve it: Make every fee traceable to a lease clause and every deposit deduction traceable to documentation move-in condition reports, dated photos, and itemized invoices. Washington requires an itemized deposit statement within 30 days of move-out, and deductions you can’t document are deductions you’ll likely refund. When a tenant disputes a charge, walk them through the lease language and the paperwork. If your paperwork can’t support the charge, waive it and fix the process.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Complaint Handling Is Tenant Retention
Turnover is one of the largest controllable costs in rental ownership. Between turn costs, marketing, and lost rent, replacing a tenant in the Spokane market can easily run two to three months of rent. Most tenants don’t leave over rent increases they leave over unresolved frustrations. A documented, responsive complaint process is not overhead; it’s one of the highest-return investments an owner can make:
- Acknowledge every complaint within one business day, in writing
- Resolve within legally required timeframes or faster
- Document the request, the response, and the resolution
- Follow up to confirm the tenant considers the issue closed
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Let Apex Property Management Handle the Complaints for You
At Apex Property Management, resolving tenant concerns is what we do every day with documented systems, 24/7 emergency response, a vetted vendor network, and a team that knows RCW 59.18 inside and out. Whether you own a single rental or a growing portfolio across Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Coeur d’Alene, or Post Falls, we keep your tenants satisfied and your investment protected.
Learn more about our property management services