Explore key takeaways from 1M reviews in Widewail’s 2025 Voice of the Resident Report—and how the multifamily resident experience is evolving.
Residents aren’t holding back in 2025.
They’re calling out missed promises, praising fast fixes, and spelling out exactly where communities fall short.
Surface-level feedback has given way to sharper, more specific reviews—naming names, tracking timelines, and expecting results.
Widewail’s 2025 Voice of the Resident Report dives into thousands of resident reviews to reveal what matters most across the renter journey. From maintenance requests to move-in expectations, this year’s data tells a clear story: Speed, trust, and follow-through are no longer nice-to-haves. They’re non-negotiable.
Here are the 3 biggest takeaways from the report:
Fast service isn’t impressive anymore—it’s expected.
Same-day fixes, real-time updates, and seamless coordination across teams have become the standard, especially during the maintenance stage.
Residents even mention turnaround times in their positive reviews, with phrases like “within an hour,” “same day,” and “24-hour response” popping up more frequently than ever.
On the flip side, maintenance complaints are rising. Negative maintenance sentiment climbed +6.3% YoY, with timing—not just repair quality—driving the frustration.
Another shift? Management is now seen as the driver of speed. Positive mentions of office teams in maintenance reviews jumped +5% YoY, showing that residents credit leadership for making fast service happen.
Residents expect same-day fixes and real-time updates as part of the deal. Falling short here sends a message (fair or not) that your community isn’t well-managed.
But it’s not just about the maintenance crew moving quickly. Residents are increasingly giving credit (or blame) to management for how things are coordinated. This year, positive management mentions in maintenance reviews went up 5%, showing that residents see the on-site team as the drivers of speed.
When residents feel like everyone’s aligned and moving together, they stick around. When they don’t, they start looking for a community that is.
Move-in isn’t just a logistical handoff anymore: it’s a critical trust moment. Naturally, residents are frustrated when what they’re promised during leasing doesn’t match what they experience upon arrival. This year we saw:
Residents aren’t vague about it either. They’re quoting promises made during tours and pointing out when reality doesn’t match:
→ “The leasing agent said it’d be fixed by the 1st.”
→ “My apartment looks nothing like the unit I toured.”
→ “Appliances were missing when I moved in, and no one followed up.”
These aren’t simple maintenance slip-ups. They’re communication breakdowns that erode trust before the first rent check is even due.
First impressions stick.
A broken promise at move-in doesn’t just annoy your new resident, it plants a seed of doubt. An early breach of trust makes every future interaction harder. You’ll have to work twice as hard to regain lost confidence, even if your service improves later.
There’s also a real business impact. Unhappy move-ins:
To fix this, leasing and operations teams must stay in lockstep. It’s not enough to “hand off” a new resident. Every promise made during the sales process needs to be tracked, verified, and followed through before the resident walks through their new front door.
Residents are leveling up their feedback game.
In 2025, reviews read more like service logs, complete with team member names, timelines, and specific outcomes.
Some key shifts from the data: (positive mentions, YoY)
Even negative feedback has evolved and gotten more specific. While rent complaints during renewal dropped 27%, frustration with unclear fees spiked 21%. Cleanliness and pest issues are also on the rise, often linked to inconsistent onsite presence.
Residents are being deliberate. They’re not just venting—they’re documenting. And they expect action.
Residents have raised the bar for how they give feedback. Reviews aren’t casual comments anymore—they’re detailed records of what happened, who was involved, and whether the community followed through.
This shift cuts both ways:
Residents are showing you exactly where your processes break down. But by being so specific, they’re also raising expectations for how precisely you respond.
If a resident spends time outlining their issue in detail, they expect you to:
In short: detailed reviews demand detailed service.
Communities that treat these reviews like service tickets will have an edge—not just in online reputation, but in actual resident experience.
The 2025 Voice of the Resident data leaves no doubt: Speed, trust, and follow-through are non-negotiable.
Residents know what they were promised. They’re paying attention. And they’re not afraid to speak up, or move out if the experience falls short.
The communities that stand out won’t just react quickly when things go wrong.
They’ll stay consistent, keep communication clear, and make sure leasing, operations, and service teams are working as one, from the first tour to lease renewal.
Want the full picture of what residents are saying at every stage of their journey? Download the full (free) Voice of the Resident Report below.
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