Minor Maintenance questions

[Account Closed]

Is it legal/acceptable/best practice to ask the tenant to replace the AC filter every 2 months let's say.  The cost for a filter is a few bucks and it's 10 mins of work.  Problem is, I don't know the logistics of it.  Should I ask the tenant to do this himself?  Even if he says yes, I won't know whether he did or he didn't.  I got no problem going there myself every 2 months and doing it myself, but I don't think that's legal since once the tenant signs the lease, I just can't come and go as I please.  And obviously if the filter is not regularly replaced, my AC unit will be shot, which is going to kill my whole investment.  On another topic, for something like the famous clogged toilet situation, should I be up front and ask the tenant to try to use a plunger himself first before calling me, or is this something I'll have to go in for in case it happens?  The flip-side is I don't want the toilet overflowing, costing me tens of thousands of dollars of damage only to have the tenant tell me in court that I specified that I didn't want him calling me in case of a clogged toilet immediately but trying to plunge it himself, and that the plunger broke so he decided to do nothing.

[Luka Milicevic]

Going into a unit to replace filters is not considered "coming and going as you please" It is considered maintenance/upkeep on the property. 

Either buy enough filters for your tenant to replace throughout their lease term if you don't want to do it yourself, or give them 24 hours of notice before you enter and let them know why you are entering.