Plumbing Stoppage in Multi-family Property. Who Pays?

Question

Hello there. I have an interesting question regarding a 4-plex we own that is on septic. We had it pumped yesterday and in addition to being full, the plumber had to auger the line due to back up. Of course it was grease and tampons causing the stoppage, which is strictly prohibited by our lease with all residents. The lease also requires the residents to pay the plumber if the stoppage is due to these items. There are only 2 women in the units, one in each of the lower apartments. Should I send half the bill to each or eat the cost. I had planned to send a warning letter to alert them that the next time they would be charged. I'm obviously not going to be able to isolate the issue to one apartment as it was in the central line inlet to the septic tank. Any ways to resolve this in a multifamily context like this would be appreciated! Thank you!

Matthew Paul · Answer

Collect DNA samples from everyone in the building .

Account Closed · Answer

@Scott Schultz you’re paying for it. One of the downsides of multi-family. Not to worry, the many up-sides will outweigh this occurrence

Scott Mac · Answer

HI Scott,

If it were me (since there is no clear cut culprit, and it's not worth T-ing off a possible innocent tenant with a bill),

I would simply warn them both verbally (door knocking), not to do this, and say it cost X to fix it, and say if it happens again you will bill them for it (although you don't have to follow through on this).

Good Luck!

Patricia Steiner · Answer

You'll want to pay it...and I would skip any reference to the females as the culprits.  That grease is gender neutral.  It just won't get you anything worth having otherwise.

Michael Noto · Answer

@Scott Schultz All you can do is send everyone in the building a letter outlining in general what is septic safe and what isn't. Will they listen? Probably not. Just one of those things as a landlord that will come up from time to time.

Frank Procopio · Answer

Not much you can do but issue warning letters to all the units

Anthony Wick · Answer

Exactly what Frank said. How can you bill everybody? Or anybody? But definitely send a letter to all units and explain what the problem was and how it can avoided in the future. I would also include the blurb from the lease about prohibited items.

Scott Schultz · Answer

My thanks to all of you for your thoughtful help. I am going to issue a letter to all the residents to let them know of the issue, the cost and include the provision in my lease that prohibits the items in question. I will also indicate that due to this additional cost that we are going to have to defer  some improvements  due to this expense. I will plan to eat cost but like the idea of a septic fee going forward since this has happened a couple of times before with different residents and as others have already mentioned, it is difficult to determine the source. Happy Easter everybody!

Alissa Engel · Answer

@Scott Schultz

If this were me; I’d issue a warning letter stating that future issues will be billed back to all tenants in equal parts.  Have them sign and return.  I usually have this addendum in my initial lease signing also, because I’ve had so many issues with tenants clogging plumbing.  It has made a huge difference. Now, whether or not you follow-through is a different story.  But humans react differently to things they commit to in-writing.

In future leases, I would have a monthly “septic service fee”, because they don’t pay sewer to a utility company.  This will off-set the cost of septic maintenance and pumping in the future.

Also, I would tread lightly when accusing women specifically.  Men cook too...can’t just blame grease on women.  And men might have other women visiting their homes that could be responsible for the tampons.  And as a mental health therapist; there’s some WEIRD fetishes out there, so I’m pretty sure some men could find creative ways to use tampons too.  Just be careful with your assumptions.

Theresa Harris · Answer

If the blockage had been between the toilet in one unit and the main line, then you could narrow down who might have done it.

Write letter to all the tenants reminding them that grease, hygiene products, etc should not be flushed or put down the drain.  You may also want to tell them other products that will damage the septic system as they are different then city sewer systems.

Plumbing Stoppage in Multi-family Property. Who Pays?

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