Handling frequent repair requests- low shower water pressure

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Handling frequent repair requests- low shower water pressure

Shannon Wang
Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 0 votes

Hi BiggerPockets community,

Need some advice on this situation and appreciate your feedback!

Tenant has been great for the past 5 months, paying rent on time and not contacted us for repairs at all.

In the past month, they've already contacted us 4x for different repair items, including slow water stream from kitchen faucet (replace), outside mailbox not shutting tightly (easy fix here), and the latest are: low shower water pressure in master and the garage door not working properly (sounds like it's still functional but they're having to align the sensors from time to time). 

In terms of the low shower water pressure, when we went to check, it's functional but the water stream is not as strong as they'd like. Tenant reports they've cleaned the shower head but that didn't fix the issue. We had a contractor go out there once and they didn't find anything that need fixing. The low water stream was only confined to the shower head and no where else. Since the shower is functional, are we liable to get that fixed to meet the safety criteria of the unit? I know in Texas we have 7 days to address repair, but does this include a functional shower that's not working at their preference?

Garage door- also sounds like it's working and it was working when they moved in, but the sensors may have become misaligned if someone knocked it out of alignment or with time. Should we address this issue too?

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Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
3y

Those requests sound marginal to me. I'd fix them this time, but if the requests keep coming at this increased rate, I'd politely offer to let them out of their lease. Did someone new move in there?

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  • Danny Polanski
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 184 posts · 182 votes
    3y

    Seems like very reasonable requests that a LL should address. 

    Remove the shower head and clean the screen, if still low pressure only at shower head, you may need to replace the faucet cartridge.


    The garage door sensors should not continually misalign. Something is not right there, they are loose, or etc. 

    2Reply
  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    3y

    Those requests sound marginal to me. I'd fix them this time, but if the requests keep coming at this increased rate, I'd politely offer to let them out of their lease. Did someone new move in there?

    3Reply
  • Alex Russell
    Lender · Boca Raton, FL · Member since 2022 · 40 posts · 24 votes
    3y

    Hi @Shannon Wang, as for the water pressure, another thing you can try is removing the "water saver" that is located in the shower head, by the end which screws onto the arm 

    This should do the trick 

    2Reply
  • Shannon Wang
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

    Those requests sound marginal to me. I'd fix them this time, but if the requests keep coming at this increased rate, I'd politely offer to let them out of their lease. Did someone new move in there?


     No it's the same tenants for the past 6 months, but repair requests have started coming in just this past month. How would I legally terminate the lease from my end?

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  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Shannon Wang:
    Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

    Those requests sound marginal to me. I'd fix them this time, but if the requests keep coming at this increased rate, I'd politely offer to let them out of their lease. Did someone new move in there?


     No it's the same tenants for the past 6 months, but repair requests have started coming in just this past month. How would I legally terminate the lease from my end?


    If they are on MTM, just give notice. If they are still under lease, just offer them the opportunity to move since they are clearly no longer happy with your unit.....

    1Reply
  • Henry T.
    Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y
    What do you think? Are these requests reasonable?
    I tell mine that if the garage door stops working they are on their own.
    The only reason they have an opener is because a previous tenant left it behind.
    I make it this clear before they sign.
    Mine still works perfectly after 40 YEARS, somehow they barely work 40 minutes with a tenant.
    Shower head, sounds like something for you to determine if valid.
    Maybe find a more mature tenant with experience, not kids.
    1Reply
  • Donna M.
    Member since 2020 · 81 posts · 73 votes
    3y

    Like Alex suggested,  remove the Water Saver. If you don't know how to do it check YouTube or get someone who knows how to locate it. An LED light bulb in the garage can interfere with g a r a ge door operations.  Replace with an incandescent bulb or anything but LED.

    1Reply
  • Wesley I.
    Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2019 · 286 posts · 135 votes
    3y

    @Shannon Wang

    Shower head is probably from calcification. Could be as simple as replacing the shower head or the cartridge.

    If I was renting and getting low water pressure from the shower head, i would bring it up to my landlord too.

    0Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Shannon Wang:
    Wait. You want to terminate their lease because they asked you to fix a few things?

    The water pressure is fine. If they want more pressure in the shower, tell them to install their own shower head.

    The garage door is your responsibility to repair and ensure it's functional. Wouldn't you want a functional garage door in your home? It probably requires servicing from a technician, maybe $150. That's a lot cheaper than what you'll face with turnover.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7247 Reviews
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    1Reply
  • Paul De Luca
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Shannon Wang

    I agree with @Bruce Woodruff and @Nathan Gesner

    As a landlord, sometimes when it rains it pours. Multiple issues can come up at once and as a landlord it is your responsibility to fix problems at the property to keep your tenant happy, even if the issues sometimes may not appear to be a big deal. 

    Try replacing the shower head - one of my tenants was dealing with low water pressure from the shower head and replacing it made a world of difference with improving the water pressure. For the garage door, contact a qualified contractor to fix it.

    1Reply
  • Wesley W.
    Rental Property Investor · The Vampire State · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3y

    You can unscrew the shower head and install a water pressure gauge to take a reading (you can buy them cheap), then compare that reading to another fixture to see if there is even an issue at all or if it could be blockage at the fixture.

    To me, strong water pressure is not part of the warranty of habitability.  If it's easy fix, then I would provide that as a customer service gesture this time, and indicate so to your tenants.  Sometimes, however, people have a higher expectation than is practical for your budget, operations or management style.  The mailbox sounds "ticky tack".  Unfortunately, when you have a frequent complainer the real maintenance issues get comingled with the routine BS, and it be becomes a "boy who cried wolf" situation.  Also, if you overindulge them with these little things, sometimes instead of pacifying them, it increases the frequency with which they call you about minutiae.  Give a mouse a cookie...

    In the end, you'll have to decide what is a reasonable maintenance request and what is not, and communicate that to your tenants.  And sometimes, as I said, their expectations do not match up with your management style.  In which case, you may need to part ways.  This could just be a coincidence with the timing of the maintenance issues, or this may be one of those times where the pareto principle is in play and you need to re-evaluate the tenancy if it persists.

    0Reply
  • Shannon Wang
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Nathan Gesner:
    Quote from @Shannon Wang:
    Wait. You want to terminate their lease because they asked you to fix a few things?

    The water pressure is fine. If they want more pressure in the shower, tell them to install their own shower head.

    The garage door is your responsibility to repair and ensure it's functional. Wouldn't you want a functional garage door in your home? It probably requires servicing from a technician, maybe $150. That's a lot cheaper than what you'll face with turnover.


    No that's just a question to the previous response. Thanks for your feedback.

    0Reply
  • Shannon Wang
    OP
    Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Paul De Luca:

    @Shannon Wang

    I agree with @Bruce Woodruff and @Nathan Gesner

    As a landlord, sometimes when it rains it pours. Multiple issues can come up at once and as a landlord it is your responsibility to fix problems at the property to keep your tenant happy, even if the issues sometimes may not appear to be a big deal. 

    Try replacing the shower head - one of my tenants was dealing with low water pressure from the shower head and replacing it made a world of difference with improving the water pressure. For the garage door, contact a qualified contractor to fix it.

    I agree, thanks for your feedback. It's importance to keep the tenant happy and repair requests that impact safety and habitability of the home. 

    0Reply
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