Engineer · Lexington, KY · Member since 2012 · 31 posts · 7 votes
So the heat pump broke on a rental of mine. So the house was heated by the strip heat. This caused the bill to go up. The tennants are wanting me to pay the increased bill. Should I? Should I pay a portion? If so how much. Advice appreicated..
Investor · Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 915 votes
12y
Whatever you do, I would use a shared approach to covering the added cost to keep the tenant on board with the idea that she is responsible for reporting any problems to you as quickly as they come up. Otherwise, if you take the whole expense, anything else that comes up might be seen by the tenant as "that's the landlord's problem, I'm not worried about it if it gets worse."
Engineer · Lexington, KY · Member since 2012 · 31 posts · 7 votes
12y
looks like it froze over, so I guess the let me know when they knew. Took me a week to get my hvac guy there. I could see paying 1/4 of the increase of the bill for the time it took to get it fixed....
Real Estate Investor · WI · Member since 2013 · 125 posts · 33 votes
12y
Hi Gary, if the pump failed on it's own I would pay the increased energy bill.
I don't know where Your from but in Wisconsin the electric/gas bills have a "Degree Days" number on the back of the bill, this number would make it easy to figure the actual increase in fuel used for the month in question this year, and the same month last year, when the pump was working.
Investor · Appleton, WI · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 464 votes
12y
As long as they had a means of heating their home to acceptable temperatures And you fixed the problem within as reasonable time period according to state law then I do not see that you would be required to pay anything towards it legally. So now it becomea an issue of business practice. If they have been great tenants and you sould like them to stay long term and believe they will then I would be more inclined to pay all or a larger portion of the increase. If you have had troubles from them otherwise and don't care much if they leave then still offer to pay a quarted of the costs like you suggested with your reasoning. If you do pay more use it as an opportunity to build goodwill.
How much are they saying the increase in the bill was?
Engineer · Lexington, KY · Member since 2012 · 31 posts · 7 votes
12y
the total bill I think was 200, so at most it was 100 increase, dont really mind the money, but its the mother of the girl renting who is calling and I just dont want to get run over.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
So they pay heat and both the heat pump and strip heat are fueled by electric. Correct? The bill went up theoretically because they needed to use the more expensive strip heater as the heat pump was broke. Pay it based on the outage time prorated for those days the heat was out or a temperature comparison to last year.
Is this the first heating month they are paying or have they been there awhile? If they are paying their first heating month it might be to some extent the amount of increase in electric for heating. If they have been there awhile and are saying this is different and you know it is different I would pay it. We do get tenants who get to January and say our electric bill really went up well yes it is below zero and you are paying for electric heat. It needs to be explained to them that it is heat and they need to compare it to putting $1000.00 in an oil tank. (of course I am in the northeast). If you call the electric company they probably can give you the data you need.
Investor · Appleton, WI · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 464 votes
12y
For $100, I guess I would probably be inclinded to pay. Having a mother like that can be annoying at times but should also be beneficial for care of your property and a little security to pay rent if times get tough on your tenant. I would thank the mother for her imput but let her know you need to speak with her daughter on this. Ask your tenant for a copy of some of the recent bills so you can file that away for your records and come to a good valuation on the increased cost. Then send the check to the utility company to pay down the agreed upon amount. This will be easier for your year end tax records. Write up a letter explaining your course of action.
Dear tenant,
Thank you for informing me of the issue with your heat pump. Here are some steps you can take in the future to catch these types of things earlier as it is not always the easiest to do. 1. 2. 3. 4. After you provided me with the utility bills I have decided to contribute $100 towards this bill. I have sent payment on 1/5/14 so you are still responsible for the remaining balance. Please accept this as a token of my appreciation for having you as a guest.
Any questions or concerns feel free to contact me at....
Landlord
Now you have shown goodwill for $100. Mom got what she wanted but also was told that daughter needs to speak for herself. Situation is resolved going forward and you provided the tenant with some useful information which you might want to include in future "welcome" packets to prevent this going forward.
Just make sure to frame this as you are not at fault or implying responsibility. You just saw a situation where you can show some appreciation. Hope that helps. Sometimes in this position we need to step back and look at the bigger picture and I think that is why you asked the question.
Investor · Lafayette/Baton Rouge, LA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 915 votes
12y
Whatever you do, I would use a shared approach to covering the added cost to keep the tenant on board with the idea that she is responsible for reporting any problems to you as quickly as they come up. Otherwise, if you take the whole expense, anything else that comes up might be seen by the tenant as "that's the landlord's problem, I'm not worried about it if it gets worse."