SLA Clause for fixing appliances in property?

Question

Do yall include a clause in your rental contract that states that when an appliance breaks, that you will have it resolved in a certain time frame? Or do you have a clause that states that there is NO SLA for fixing an appliance due to uncontrollable variables? I'm speaking from the perspective of this:

Tennant reports appliance isn't working. You or contractor/handyman come out and diagnose issue and order part. Obviously I don't have control over how long the part takes to get delivered. Tennant complains and wants a new appliance ordered because it has been "X" number of days since they reported the issue.

This is hypothetical. However I think I should have something in my rental agreement to handle this. Thanks as always.

Bill B. · Answer

Assuming you mean kitchen appliances not something that makes the home habitable. (like ac or heat where you’d probably have to pay for a hotel.). I can’t see how often this comes up. I don’t think anyone fixes microwaves/dishwashers you replace them. Most stoves would be one burner doesn’t work (they can probably live with that.) otherwise I’d replace if it if larger issue. Fridges are rarely worth repairing. I guess I replace the units 90% of the time. The other 10% it’s fixed the same day by a part that “fails all the time”. I do feel bad when it takes a day or two to get a replacement unit but I explain I’d be waiting at my home if mine failed as well. But repairs are done same day.

I think communication and staying in contact shows effort and that’s big with most tenants. If you’re going to try to keep repairing units instead of replacing them maybe switch to an appliance repair company that comes out with the parts?

IMHO most repairs cost me $250-$300 and most new units cost $300-$500 except fridges. I don’t want the repairman to go back out frustrating tenant annd costing me more than a new one.  Even with a dozen of each appliance it probably comes up once maybe twice a year? Per house it should be 5-6 years between problems. You could put a line in your lease about “the landlord understands the inconvenience of broken appliances and will attempt to repair them as quickly as is reasonably.” I wouldn’t put a number of days because they all should be same day except the one that’s a week or more.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Emory Clayton No, not needed.  but what you do all depends on what it is refrigerators waiting typically isn't an option. I once had a call saying half the refrigerator isn't working they refrigerated all the food in the freezer while waiting for a replacement but normally the fridge is a complete failure and tenants are not that flexible. Just be good at troubleshooting with the tenants. Twice tenant calls for a stove failure were an unplugged stove.  You also need to consider the seriousness of the call, if the front seal of a washing machine is dripping that can wait longer than if the washer has completely quit and the part will take 4 weeks.

Emory Clayton · Answer

Thanks for your response Melanie. The general synopsis that I am seeing from posts like yours is:If I keep the tenants up to date on the troubleshooting process and show that work is being done to resolve the issue, I'll be fine. I am a bit of a handy man, and I like to understand how things work. So trying to fix things, appliances included, is not an issue for me. But you hit the nail on the head, sometimes it just isn't worth fixing. Thank you again.

Melanie P. · Answer

Absolutely not! There is no timeframe for repairs because every repair is unique and will have it's own set of challenges. As long as you're making a good faith effort toward getting vendors out, getting estimates and keeping the tenant updated they just have to wait on your process.

If you're thinking of doing your own appliance repairs you'll be fine if sometimes it takes a week or two to get from them reporting it to the appliance being fixed. The reason we replace instead of repair is because sending the appliance repairman out is $165 trip charge and more than 70% of the time they come back with "not worth fixing." So it's easy to save money by just skipping the appliance repair people.

Emory Clayton · Answer

Yes I was referring to kitchen appliances. The thought came to mind to ask this question because I've had my personal washing machine and dishwasher both have problems about 2 weeks ago, and I have successfully fixed the washer with a $35 part from Amazon (after watching a few youtube videos), and the part for the dishwasher has still to come in. I'm pretty handy so I don't mind looking into something to see if I can fix it my self. I only have one single rental home at the moment, so my work flow for how to resolve this is going to be different than some people. I get that. It sounds like you have several units, so in your case, it makes sense to maybe just replace instead of trying to fix. Fixing appliances in my home is a bit different too because I'm ok with out a dishwasher or another appliance for some time while I work to resolve the issue, however I won't have that luxury with a rental property. Just thinking out loud.

SLA Clause for fixing appliances in property?

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