Help! I have a "High Maintenance" Tenant

Help! I have a "High Maintenance" Tenant

Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2013 · 198 posts · 25 votes

Background:

I have a tenant who has been renting for about 10 months.  She is a retired probation officer and currently works part-time with one of local city governments in the traffic court division.  When she first moved in she had a laundry list of items she wanted repaired.  For the first 2-3 months of her occupancy I received a weekly email asking for something new to be fixed/repairs/replaced, etc.  Granted, I'm on the high end as far as rent and amenities in the area...ie-stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, granite countertops.

First, it was the tub reglaze paint was chipped and she felt it was a health hazard and would get in her "woman parts."  She asked that I reglaze the tub.  I denied her request to reglaze the tub.  

Then, she said the stainless steel oven stovetop was bent causing her gas burner to cook her food unevenly.  This was SUPER important since the beautiful kitchen was one of the main reasons she rented my unit and wanted it fixed because she cooks a lot.

Then the kitchen sink pull down/out faucet would toggle between a shower sray and stream spray. I replaced the whole faucet for her

Next, she wanted a laundry room washer drain stack installed (I've owned the building for two years and everyone just runs the washer drain hose to the drain in the floor).  She stated it was not in code to not have one. I denied her request stating I've passed multiple occupancy inspections and this has never been an issue.  The building is over 60 years old.

She pulled the ceiling fan chain out.  She wanted a brand new fan...my handyman replaced the broken chain.

Last month, she dropped a wine bottle on the kitchen tile floor damaging two tiles. She would like them replaced, but she takes responsibility.

She complained that I didn't have the snow removed quick enough last week citing in her lease that I'm responsible for it's removal.

Now I receive two separate email with the attached pictures. One of the plaster/drywall/skim coat cracking or falling off above the shower tile.  And another email requesting that I reglaze the tub...again citing health concerns due to the paint chips when she takes a bath.

She has literally almost had a maintenance concern almost every month.  She has access to lawyers doing her part-time work in the city courts.  How to our deal with her without going broke honoring all her repair request.  I pride myself on being a very responsive and great landlord, but at some point it's just a rental and an investment I intend to make money one.

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Charlotte, NC · Member since 2015 · 17 posts · 10 votes
11y

I'm going to be the one to rock the boat here.  

For the tub:  Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a nice respirator.  Knock on the door and go to inspect the tub.   Hand her the respirator and let her know she will have to wear that while she is in the unit for at least 72 hours and the tub people will be there in the morning, unless she's not comfortable with the mask.   Proceed to touch up the tub with appliance repair epoxy.  It actually matches and is durable.  No lady-part damage.   I've had to do something similar in the past.  

The stove:  it doesn't cook unevenly, she does.  Spin the pan, Rachel Ray.  

If all else fails, exercise the Happy Clause.  Let her move out with no penalty and full deposit back, minus any damage (like the tile floor).  That usually puts a stop to the nitpicking.  

Some people just can't help but to be a pain in the ***.  They're not happy until you're not happy.  And they're still unhappy.  Once in a while you have to fight fire with fire and just be a jerk.  There is a difference between being a great, responsive landlord and a concierge.  You're about halfway there. She's training you.

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  • Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 708 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Andrew S.:
    Originally posted by @Gabe G.:

    Check your laws.

    In most states, you are only requires to provide safe,adequate housing.

    Heat, electric, proper plumbing, no leaks etc. The basics.

    Everything else, is usually at digression of the landlord. She rented the place "as is" if these things were important to her, then they should of been addressed before signing the lease.

    I would fix anything that is a safety risk first. After that, if you want to do a few small things for her, that you don't have to do, to establish goodwill, then fine. After that, I would not do any updates/upgrades/ or fixes, where she admits she caused the damage.

    If she complains, then say you have the option of breaking our lease, but I will be taking security deposit as damages, for turnover costs/re renting.

     I have such a tenant too and I find that doing "a few small things to establish goodwill" tends to backfire with such folks and just encourages (actually it basically guarantees) additional requests.  I do agree, of course, promptly fix anything safety related.

    Something flagged this old post of mine, so I thought I'd update it.  This tenant continued to be a perpetual complainer for another year or so, and sure enough, ended up as my first (and so far only) eviction ever. 

  • Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes
    6y

    You had to evict her because you treated her like she was a problem.  Why do your tenants need to deal with living in a home that does not meet there standards?  Do you treat your own home this way?  When something is broken, do you tell yourself to stop whining?  She was never a PITA, but you were always a deadbeat landlord.

  • Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes
    5y

    I created an account just to reply to this ancient post. As a tenant in an apartment complex, I was doing some research on my bathtub getting resurfaced because there's cracks in it. This entire post thread is exactly why everyone hates landlords. You have a tenant complaining about perfectly reasonable things, and everyone in here jumps on "raise her rent!" "Kick her out!", "Give her the bill!" 

    If you were renting a place, you would expect it not to have chipping paint and old, underperforming appliances. Shameful, the whole lot of you.

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