The short answer
Separate a comfort concern from a condition that may need repair. Describe what you observe, report it through the right channel, and check the lease before trying a change to the home.
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Check for immediate danger first
If you see smoke or fire, smell gas, encounter active flooding near electrical equipment, or face another immediate threat, leave the affected area and contact emergency services or the property's emergency number as appropriate. Do not wait for an ordinary portal message to be read. For a serious but non-immediate condition, use the urgent maintenance route named in the lease or move-in instructions.
Many apartment concerns are routine, but a generic online list cannot set a repair deadline or decide whether a particular condition is legally urgent. Location, the actual hazard, and the lease matter. If someone may be in immediate danger, seek emergency help.
Treat a carbon-monoxide alarm or symptoms as urgent
Carbon monoxide has no color or smell, so an unexplained odor, sound, temperature change, or flickering light cannot identify it. If a carbon-monoxide alarm sounds, or a person inside has symptoms that could be exposure, get everyone outdoors to fresh air and call emergency services or the fire department. Do not search for a source or re-enter until responders say it is safe; seek prompt medical help for possible symptoms. Follow the Consumer Product Safety Commission's alarm and suspected-exposure steps and review the CDC's symptom information. A report through the usual maintenance channel can wait until people are safe.
Send a factual report that can be acted on
Use the property's stated maintenance or contact channel and identify the building, unit, room, and best way to reach you. Describe what you observed, when it began, how often it occurs, and whether it is changing. State any immediate impact and the step you are requesting, such as an inspection or repair assessment. Include a clear photograph only when it is safe and does not capture another resident or private information.
If a resident has an explanation beyond what can be observed, acknowledge the concern, record the specific sounds, smells, temperature, lights, or timing, and follow up on possible safety or maintenance conditions without ridiculing or presenting an unverified cause as fact.
Keep a copy of the message, attachments, confirmation, and reply. If the issue continues, add the new date and observation rather than replacing your original description with a guess about the cause. Avoid sharing unnecessary medical or other sensitive details in an ordinary work order.
Choose a safe first step for common concerns
- Noise: note the date, time, duration, location, and the sound you can actually hear. Use the property's reporting process instead of entering another unit or confronting a neighbor. A noise report does not prove who caused it.
- Pests: identify where and when you saw signs, and report them promptly. Follow building preparation instructions and avoid improvised pesticide use, foggers, or products applied outside their label. EPA's resident pest-control guidance explains prevention and careful pesticide use.
- Odors, damp areas, or stains: record the room, surface, timing, and whether the condition returns or changes. Do not identify mold, a leak, or an odor source by appearance alone, open a wall, or cover a growing stain with paint. Report active water or an electrical concern through the urgent route.
- Uneven temperature or ventilation: say which rooms are affected, when it happens, and what the installed equipment is doing. Do not open, rewire, or dismantle heating or cooling equipment. Ask before adding a window unit, attaching film, sealing a vent, or changing a control.
- Lighting, privacy, and limited storage: a movable lamp, furniture arrangement, or freestanding organizer may be a low-impact adjustment if it keeps exits, windows, vents, and alarms clear. Check before drilling, painting, attaching a covering, changing a lock, or altering a fixture.
Keep any temporary adjustment reversible
A small comfort improvement should not conceal a repair need or create a safety problem. Keep walkways and required exits open; do not cover a smoke or carbon-monoxide alarm, block a heating vent, overload an outlet, or hang something that could fall. Use electrical products as their manufacturer directs, and stop using a damaged or hot-smelling device.
Do not burn a candle or add fragrance to cover an unexplained odor, and do not use cleaning chemicals as a substitute for finding the source. Follow each product label and never mix bleach with ammonia or another cleaner; the CDC warns that mixing cleaning products can create dangerous fumes.
Read the lease and ask for written approval before making a change to a window, wall, fixture, paint, lock, wiring, or installed equipment. For a product that requires a tool, chemical, adhesive, or permanent attachment, check the instructions and property rules first. A renter's quick fix is not a substitute for reporting a broken building system.
Follow up and find location-specific help
If you do not receive an update, reply in the same channel with the original report date, what has changed, and a clear request for the next step and expected update. Keep notes of any calls, visits, access arrangements, and work completed. If a serious issue remains unresolved, review your signed agreement and the current process for your city and state. USAGov's tenant-rights page links to state agencies and explains where to seek help with a landlord dispute.
Do not assume that a general article authorizes rent withholding, repair-and-deduct, changing locks, or ending a lease. Those options have location-specific requirements and risks. Check an official local source or speak with a qualified housing adviser before taking one of those steps.
Know what rental software can do
Rentari provides rental software and written guides. Its maintenance and messaging tools can help organize a report and its communication history; the property owner or authorized contact still needs to assess the condition and arrange any required work. Rentari does not inspect or repair a home and does not provide licensed property management or tenant placement.
Sources and further reading
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Common questions
What should I include in an apartment complaint?
Name the unit and room, state what you observed, when it began, how often it occurs, and how the property can contact you. Add a safe, relevant photo if it helps, and keep a copy of the report and reply.
Can I try a do-it-yourself fix before reporting it?
Report a condition that may involve repair or safety first. Only consider a reversible, low-risk comfort change that fits the lease and product instructions. Ask before altering windows, walls, fixtures, locks, wiring, or installed equipment, and do not use pesticides outside their label.
What should I do if a carbon-monoxide alarm sounds or someone feels unwell?
Get everyone outdoors to fresh air and contact emergency services or the fire department. Do not search for the source or re-enter until responders clear it. Seek prompt medical help for possible symptoms; a maintenance message is secondary to immediate safety.
Can I stop paying rent or repair the apartment myself?
Those options depend on the current law and procedure for the property's location and circumstances. A general guide cannot determine eligibility. Check an official local housing resource or qualified adviser before withholding rent, deducting a repair cost, or changing a lease.
Where can I get help if a complaint is unresolved?
Keep your report history, review the lease, and check the current state or local tenant agency. USAGov links to official state resources and explains places to seek help with a landlord dispute.
Archive years group longstanding rental topics. This Rentari guide was published on 2026-10-06.
Written and maintained by the Rentari team. Examples explain a decision; they are not customer results. Found an error or an unclear step? Send a correction with this page's address and the detail to review.
Your next step
Follow a maintenance request