Living with another person has its highs and lows. On one hand, it’s awesome to have someone around for movie nights, chat sessions, or just to help pay the bills. On the other hand, space can get tight. Sometimes, roommates need a neutral voice to help them through an issue. Here are some steps you can take to help mediate roommate conflicts.

Don’t Talk Separately: Though it may seem like a great idea to sit with roommates individually, chances are, you’re not really helping them. If they can’t talk to each other any time there’s a conflict, they may turn to you. Instead, try to sit the sparring roommates down together in a neutral space, maybe an office, or meeting room. Once you have them together, facilitate a dialogue between them. You should help move the dialogue forward towards a solution that works for the roommates and the apartment community.

Set Mediation Ground Rules: Oftentimes, roommate conflicts can get personal. We want to keep everything at a surface level and not let mediations get personal. Some helpful rules to set with your residents before starting the mediation are 1. No interrupting each other; 2. No calling each other names; 3. Attempt to focus on the future, no living in the past; 4. Listen respectively; and, 5. Work together to create a solution, not more problems. For more tips on setting ground rules, check out this article from mediation.com.

Uphold Community Guidelines: Many conflicts can easily be resolved by referencing your community guidelines. Is someone making too much noise too late at night? Make sure they know the common quiet time. Does someone have an issue with parking? You probably have apartment rules in place to address this. Sometimes the simplest fix is the best fix.

Follow Up: Once the conflict is handled, don’t forget to follow up. Ask them if things are working well, or if there are any other problems you can help with. Sending an email or calling your residents shows you care about their conflicts. It also shows residents you are available for any problems they may have within your community. Building a level of trust is something many property managers won’t do; it’s something that will set you apart.

Hopefully, these tips are helpful to mediate roommate conflicts. If you have any other tips you would like to add, please leave them in a comment. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Remember when neighbors were friends? As technology makes it easier to maintain long-distance connections, many times we’re seeing the local community suffer. It doesn’t have to be this way though. Today, we’re outlining methods to bring your residents together and how to foster friendship in apartment communities.

Events At Home

One of the best ways to bring people together is with community events. Since the weather is starting to heat up, now would be a great time to plan a summer movie series. We’ve seen apartment communities show family-friendly films such as The Goonies, The Princess Bride, The Sound of Music, or The Sandlot; among others. If you don’t have a screening room, hosting the event on a lawn would be an easy option. Party rentals often have AV options that can accommodate an outdoor event. Send invites to your residents on social media, or print flyers and leave them in mailboxes. Encourage your residents to invite friends, lay down blankets, and bring food; make it a fun, social night for everyone.

Get Outside

If you live in a community with a local sports team, see if you can get bulk tickets! Inviting your residents to a sports game is also an easy way to bring them together and turn neighbors into friends. Or, try to organize a community meetup. You can create your own group at MeetUp.com, or create a Facebook community page for your residents to chat, meet each other, and plan events. If you have any local hiking trails, invite your residents on a group hike, maybe hire a nature expert to drop fun facts along the way!

It’s reported that making friends as adults is incredibly hard. If you have tips to foster friendship in apartment communities, let us know in the comments. Turning neighbors into friends can be greatly beneficial. It could help retain your residents, and bring in some new, trusted renters.