Ceiling Fans Dilemma In Rentals

Ceiling Fans Dilemma In Rentals

Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes

Being in South Florida where it's summer 11.5 months of the year it's nice to have ceiling fans to circulate the air in a rental and renters see it as a "plus" although I don't think it's a show stopper.

My rentals are typically older buildings and many came with installed ceiling fans and I typically try to keep the fans. 

However, they are a maintenance burden.  For example, if you have to access the junction box above the fan it is a lot more trouble to have to remove the fan to get at the wiring.  Tenants tend to either lose or break the remote or rip down the pull chain...but the biggest concern I have is the actual install and support.

Almost every time I take down a ceiling fan, I found these older installs were not properly supported.  The ceiling boxes are rarely securly fastened to the roof framing, but are just hanging there.  Granted, these older buildings have EMT metal conduits so the conduit connections do provide some rigidity and support, but they cannot be counted on especially these set screws could come loose.  But the bigger issue is the ceiling box are never fan rated boxes.  For those of you who are handy you know what I am talking about, a fan rated box is supposed to be securely fastened to the roof framing and they have those long and deep threaded rod connections to mount the hanging brackets on to.  A regular box you are simply attaching the hanging bracket to a mud ring with two 6-32 screws on those tiny thin ears.  Yet I see those fans have been there forever.

What is your practice when it comes to existing ceiling fans in a rental property?

Do you take them all down and get rid of them?

Do you leave them alone as long as it's working and not worry about how it's installed?

Do you at least remove the canopy cover to peek into whether it was properly supported and if the box is rated for a fan?  I guess the same question if you have a pre-existing chandelier.

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Investor · Boyd, TX · Member since 2014 · 688 posts · 467 votes
9y

I,ve only had to replace one ceiling fan (after renovation) in the last five years. It took about thirty minutes. I guess if I had hundreds of units instead of my six and parent's four to deal with it might be different, but then the extra rent I can charge offsets a few repairs.

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  • Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    I try and avoid having them installed at all, it's just another maintenance monster issue like washer and dryers!! I would rather put in a ceiling light fixture: easy and simple. The fighter end properties are a little different animal. 

    You may want to add a clause to the lease that states that the fans are their for their use, but if they break, they will not be repaired .

    On another note, I have all my properties inspected by a professional prior to occupancy.

  • Investor · Boyd, TX · Member since 2014 · 688 posts · 467 votes
    9y

    I leave them in as long as they are working and not wobbling around. If I need to replace them I will upgrade the box if needed. Luckily most of my places with fans are new enough they have the ceiling fan rated boxes.

  • Investor · Ventura, CA · Member since 2016 · 264 posts · 70 votes
    9y

    I take them down on the assumption that they were not properly installed and could be a safety issue. 

  • Investor · Boyd, TX · Member since 2014 · 688 posts · 467 votes
    9y

    I,ve only had to replace one ceiling fan (after renovation) in the last five years. It took about thirty minutes. I guess if I had hundreds of units instead of my six and parent's four to deal with it might be different, but then the extra rent I can charge offsets a few repairs.

  • Real Estate Investor · Desoto, TX · Member since 2013 · 560 posts · 528 votes
    9y

    I think it depends on your rental class to some degree, your geographic location, and the existing electrical setup. I like to keep a ceiling fan in the master bedroom, where I presume adults will reside and have enough sense not to break :) In the other bedrooms where I presume kids or teenagers will reside, I prefer to go with a ceiling light fixture (even my own kids have broken the chain on the fan). I also leave a ceiling fan in the living room. If the fans are old, outdated, ugly and wobble, I simply replace them. I never get service calls about ceiling fans so they are the least of my worry. 

    I do not go out of my way to install a fan. For instance, if the house does not have a wiring/electrical location currently for a fan, I don't got out of my way to do it. 

    In regards to rental class, a person paying $500 rent should probably have a different expectation about "extras". A person paying $1650 will probably expect a few more extras. All of my rents are in the range of ~$1000 - $1650 and I am in Texas so every home is going to have some number of fans, if not in all living and bedrooms. 

  • Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Christine Swaidan:

    I take them down on the assumption that they were not properly installed and could be a safety issue. 

     That's one of the concerns.  If not properly supported and a ceiling fan come loose it could fall on someone's head and cause injury and the landlord can have liability if the fan isn't properly installed.  I worry about that more so then the maintenance headache having to repair/replace one.

  • Investor · Norfolk, VA · Member since 2016 · 9 posts · 8 votes
    9y

    Any fans that are currently working I would leave as is. As they break, I would replace with regular light fixtures. Assuming that you unit has central A/C that should more than keep your tenants cool. Tenants can always bring their own fans of they really want them. 

    You could look at other advertised rentals to gauge the competition to judge whether you should reinstall the ceiling fans. But it is my opinion that they are not a huge selling point and would rather have lower maintenance issues as the owner.

  • Investor · Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 465 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Kim Meredith Hampton:

    I try and avoid having them installed at all, it's just another maintenance monster issue like washer and dryers!! I would rather put in a ceiling light fixture: easy and simple. The fighter end properties are a little different animal. 

    You may want to add a clause to the lease that states that the fans are their for their use, but if they break, they will not be repaired .

    On another note, I have all my properties inspected by a professional prior to occupancy.

     I have a clause in my lease that states that kitchen disposers are for their use and if they break or jam or whatever it's my option to replace repair or remove.  I don't have such clause for ceiling fans as it is usually not an item tenants "abuse" except the one time I got one coated in dried up BBQ sauce.

    Can you elaborate on the "professional inspection" aspect?  Do they really open up every ceiling box and look behind them?  My experience with a "professional electrical inspection" typically involve looking at the meter weatherhead "visually", taking down the electrical panel cover and look inside and see if there is any cause for concerns (double tapping, mismatched wire gauge & breakers...), testing and resetting of one or two kitchen GFCI receptacles, plugging in a few receptacles with their $10 tester and making sure the "CORRECT"s are lit up.  One would not have uncovered the issues we are talking about here with any typical inspection unless they actually take down the fans to see it, or if the attic is accessible and they crawl all over it.

    The typically do my own inspection before purchase and as a rule I open at least one wall box and one ceiling box in each room in the process just to see what I am dealing with.  Many times in older buildings especially those that have been partially remodeled we are dealing with a combination of EMT/metal boxes and NM-B/plastic boxes, and lack of EGC continuity and ground is a typical issue.  One time I opened a wall box and the owner had spray flammable expanding foam into all exterior wall boxes to stop ants from coming in.  It was a huge effort to have to clear out all that nasty foam.  Generally I find correcting electrical defects is the most time consuming part of my turnovers.

  • Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    That is right, they won't open up the ceiling fan, it is more visual on those items, but I don't like having to replace items such as ceiling fans and washer/dryers, hot tubs etc... The inspections are important as a third party setting eyes on the property and giving the tenant a copy to keep everything transparent. 

    Sounds like you may be handy yourself and don't need a professional to tell or point out these items.

  • Peoria, IL · Member since 2011 · 365 posts · 182 votes
    9y

    Get better fans. 
    I get Hunter fans on sale sub $100.
    One has never broken on me. 
    I do agree, to be installed correctly, the box needs braced. Typically isn't done, typically not a problem. I always fix that if changing out the fan. 

  • Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    I have older houses and  many of them came with ceiling fans.

    I'm slowly getting rid of the darn things when units are empty.   The only ones I need to keep are ones in a house where there is currently no wall switch and the lights are turned off and on via the fan.

    Tenants often damage the switches. Replacing the ceiling fan light switch isn't so hard; the fan switch can, of course, involve more wires.

    Remove them, go to Lowes, buy the 6-pack of Project Source flush mounted ceiling lights for under $45 (or the 2-pack Project Source LED flush mounted ceiling list for $40) and donate your ceiling fans to your local Habitat for Humanity store (if they'll take the things; sometimes they only want the globes).

    Just had a friend working on her older rental house that had 5 ceiling fans (include two in the kitchen; again not unusual in these old houses); half wobbled, the other half had burned out bulbs or broken switches from her previous tenants.  Initially she and her husband were going to replace all of these with...more ceiling fans.  I suggested the flush mounted lights.  They went with the ones with the LED bulbs since the ceilings were quite high.  Place instantly looks more modern with these instead of the ceiling fans.

    Gail

  • Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    P.S.  In my friends house, NONE of these fans were attached to fan rated boxes.  Same with those I've taken down in my older houses.  Heck; earlier this year when I was replacing four in an empty rental house, the one in the living room wasn't attached to ANY box; someone had just drilled holes in the thick drywall ceiling and attached the fan years previously.   And those suckers are heavy!


    Gail

  • Portland, ME · Member since 2012 · 616 posts · 550 votes
    9y

    I hate ceiling fans in rentals!  They always break and I remove them between tenants.   I recently had one break and the guy said he never used it, but didn't like that it was there and just didn't work.  A solution that he was happy with was that we simply removed the blades!  The light is pretty nice and we were happy not to have to mess with it.  Another tenant complained that she goes through lightbulbs in hers (I've reminded her that she needs to use the special bulbs for ceiling fans).

    I heard one story about a kid losing his eye when he was jumping on the bed and got hit by one.  Landlord was sued.

    I see you are in Florida.  Don't you have central air conditioning there anyway?

  • Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9y
    I ADD ceiling fans to kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms when renovating. If the existing fans are there I leave them as is. It classes up a place and is a great way to reduce utilities in summer and winter (change fan direction). I've had one break once and that was an existing fan not new.
  • Shawn AckermanPro Member
    Real Estate Entrepreneur · Mid West, East Coast · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Sam Leon If it's pre-existing I'd replace it with another ceiling fan however if that tenant should vacate, I'd take it down and just keep the fixture.  The more amenities the more you spend in upkeep overtime. Best of luck.

  • Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    "Generally when you walk into the front door of a home or an apartment there is a switch thingy to turn on some kind of light? That box has or should have all the electrical connections to the immediate interior light sources and the porch light if provided.... That's 3 switches....If your properties only have one, you are probably seeing more vacancies than necessary. The residents electricity is higher than expected.... In other words, they can't turn something on or off without turning everything off or on.... And if you have CH/AC all that usage of power( heat/air per sq ft) makes your HVAC system operate longer, putting a toil on YOUR UNIT, thus complaints...."

    My smallest house (2 bedroom, 1 bath) is my oldest house (built in 1911).  Two rooms do not have wall switches; the lights in these rooms are controlled by turning the ceiling fan light in these rooms off an on. 

    The other rooms (and the porch lights) are controlled by light switches.

    This house is under 900 square feet.  It's also my only house without HVAC.   It stays rented just fine as the rent is quite realistic for the neighborhood.

    Gail

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