When does it become the tenant's responsibility to pay for repairs?

Question

We have a reasonably new tenant who's had several repair issues since she moved in back on July 1. She had issues with her kitchen faucet leaking. We repaired it at no cost to her. About 2 weeks ago, she contacted us with similar issues. We had a plumber replace the entire faucet, again at no cost to her.

Las night, she sent a text (along with a video) showing that the hot water doesn't come on from the kitchen faucet. She said "it's weird, doesn't happen all the time." Our plumber will go take a look at it today. If it's related to the work he did, he won't charge us.

In the same text, she showed a picture of her tub hardware, which has come apart from the ceiling support.

Is this just normal "wear and tear" we should expect? Is there a point where repairs become the tenant's responsibility?

Thanks for your help!

Melanie Thomas · Answer

If there's clear evidence of tenant misuse or negligence, I would proceed with charging the tenant. However, it doesn’t seem like the tenant is at fault for the issues you described. A good vendor will often provide insights and a documented professional opinion, which can serve as third-party confirmation. This documentation will be helpful if you ultimately decide to charge the tenant for repairs. Good luck & happy investing!

Chris Grenzig · Answer

@Jim Bouchard agreed with everyone just normal wear and tear, it happens.

we just leased a brand new construction home and they've had like 4 things we've had to send someone out for (luckily all under warranty), but sometimes that stuff just happens. You don't realize there was/is an issue until someone is living in it and using everything all the time.

Eric Gerakos · Answer

Normal wear and tear.

Jim Bouchard · Answer

@Chris Grenzig

Yep. Thanks for chiming in!

Jim Bouchard · Answer

That's what I suspected. Thanks for the insights!

Jonathan Greene · Answer

It doesn't look like she is doing anything to make these things happen. These look like landlord issues and she is doing the right thing by reporting them to you right away so they can get taken care of.

Laura Stayton · Answer

Unless it's obvious tenant damage you must fix things in the home.  These are not caused by tenant so would be your responsibility.

When does it become the tenant's responsibility to pay for repairs?

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