broken door kobs/locks at tenancy end- normal wear and tear?

Question

At the end of tenancy, the new tenants immediately complained about door knobs that were jammed.  The handyman said he tried to repair them but most needed to be replaced. One was  deadbolt and lever handle set on the front door, a bathroom door, and a exterior french door. All of the door knobs and locks worked at the beginning of their tenancy 1.5 years ago.  The old tenants said they never had a problem with the door handles, the handyman confirmed they needed to be replaced. It's a high end home and I go out every year to fix any problems the tenants have.  Since all the door knobs worked at the start of tenancy and some did not work at the end of tenancy, would replacing the door knobs be considered normal wear and tear? Or is it something I can take out of their deposit?  Had the old tenants noticed the problem I would have taken care of the replacement myself after them moved out, but since they didn't notice I had to hire a handyman and the bill came to $265 for working on 5 door knobs. (i don't live nearby)

Michael Boyer · Answer

This is just a possible explanation from experience. I once had a solid tenant--actually very high level Ivy law school grad--and all seemed a-okay. Until it didn't.

At move out, almost all the door knobs, even some light switches, most latches, and any handles were worn out or even broken off.

My very best guess to this day was some sort of OCD type condition that compelled the person to constantly keep checking, pulling, pushing (probably with too much force clearly) every knob in the unit compulsively.

That was about the only way I could explain a single person working all day wearing out so many knobs, etc so quickly. They must have constantly pulled and pushed on them non-stop for long periods.

Otherwise, it was an okay tenancy. My approach was  just to documented it and do the deposit offset (per statute in my state).

I actually only deducted the parts (all the new knobs and switches) as I did the labor myself and did not want to even risk any conflict or debate around the damage/extra wear and tear and such with newly minted lawyer (I think I could have prevailed but the time and stress did not warrant it for me on a small dollar figure).

There is another trending post about a similar theme (good tenant, heavy wear and tear), and some tenants are just wear and tear experts (wearing everything out fast!) and sometimes slip through the cracks.

Best of luck

Max T. · Answer

You can charge to replace lightbulbs if all bulbs were working at start of tenancy. I hold tenants responsible for replacing bulbs (unless they are in difficult areas such as above a long set of stairs).

Peter Mckernan · Answer

@Shelley Ashworth When they moved in and then out did you together or separately preform a walkthrough checklist? If this was done and there were no notations on if these doorknobs had problems; however, now they do I would use this for documentation that the tenants damaged the property and that is not normal wear and tear.

If the doorknobs where loose and needed some tightening, or they needed a small piece of the mechanics fixed than I would say that is normal wear and tear. It comes down to the current condition upon move in and the current condition upon move out.

Travis Hughes · Answer

Did you notice any damage that may have been caused by improper use of the knobs or locks?  Negligence?  I suppose it could be possible for a tenant to damage the locks by constantly adding WD40 or other lubricant (which is NOT intended for locks), but that would be a long shot.

I've managed over 1,000 rental homes in the last 5 years and have never charged back replacing door knobs and locks under the circumstances that you are describing.  We've charged back if a tenant breaks a key inside the lock, or if they change the locks off of our master keyset after move in (lease violation), etc, but never for the locks simply wearing out.

Justin Tahilramani · Answer

Shelly,

Have you thought about getting a second opinion? I have used some pretty cheap door knobs in the past and they rarely have issues. Its possible that they just needed lubrication or adjustment. Im not saying that you are getting ripped off, but you did say that you dont live in the area.

As for charging the tenant - it would be a stretch IMHO.

Carlos Tavares · Answer

how old were the door knobs?1.5 years with current tenants + how many years before that?

Thomas S. · Answer

Door knob issues is not a usual problem. I would guess that something the tenant was doing most likely caused their premature failure, unless they were very cheep knobs installed at the time of the previous tenant. In that case they may simply have worn out, although I have never heard of knobs failing in that short of a time.

If you can not conclusively determine it was tenant abuse there is really no way you can put the blame on the tenant. I believe you will have to eat the cost.

It sure would be nice to know what they did to damage them though.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

@Shelley Ashworth If this was an agreement in writing I would say yes; however, this is something that an attorney would be better answering! Also, the argument to this is that it is wear and tear. You as a homeowner would have to replace them if you were living there normally, also any other person living their would have to as well.

It is a very small cost, so it depends if it effects the overall financial situation.

Shelley A. · Answer

What about light bulbs?  I explained on move in day that all the light bulbs worked at the start of tenancy and they needed to replace burned out bulbs at the end of their tenancy. I reminded them of this with a cleaning check list that listed "replace all burned out bulbs" Then on the final walk through I pointed out the burned out bulbs and tenant said he had just replaced them.  Can I deduct the 8 bulbs that were burned on final walk through from his deposit?

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

Did you perform a move in checklist, video, pictures, or have an independent inspector perform the walk thru? Did the tenants do a move in checklist? A lot of problems can be avoided on the backside if these items are performed prior to occupancy.

As @travishughes suggested, if you notice damage, then you could charge the tenants deposit, but if they are just at the end of their life, you should just move on

broken door kobs/locks at tenancy end- normal wear and tear?

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