San Mateo, CA · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 3 votes
Hello BP,
What appliances do we need to provide for our tenants? My realtor said no fridge or laundry machines because of liability issue, but throughout the years of renting myself I never had to bring in my own fridge and laundry machines. Any inputs are appreciated, thank you!
Depends on what class of tenant you're renting to. I've always provided a refrigerator just with no ice-maker. My normal appliance package is refridge, stove/oven and dishwasher. I advertise washer/dryer hook up but never supply them.
If I was renting i would expect all appliances to be provided. The rationale is that renters move around quickly as they see fit and don’t usually have in the luggage those items.
By not providing a refrigerator for example, you’ll be reducing the number of people you could rent to.
Having said that, it also depends what type of properties you are renting and who you are renting to.
Students and apartment renters in condos would expect appliances.
Family house renters might be ok with having to buy their own appliances.
Bottom line, if you know the type of people you are renting to and knowing your area, you should know if you have to provide appliances or not.
If you are flexible, don’t purchase anything now but let the real estate agent know that if need be, you will be ok to provide appliances.
That will be save you upfront cost and allow you to test the market. Maybe you can negotiate a small price increase for providing those items.
Good luck!
By the way, another thing i wanted to point out is :
Either your real estate agent knows very his/her market which happens to also be your market, in which case it is absolute ok to not provide appliances in your case because of “liabilities “ issues or any other excuse people might come up with and you should listen to his/her advise.
OR he has zero clues what he or she is talking about and you should go for a different real estate agent.
You will find it's split. Some LL's provide nothing, others supply some, or all. I like to supply all as they do rent quicker in that format. However, we do require the tenant to pay for repairs or replacement of said appliances, which offsets the cost, a lot as tenants abuse the living life out of appliances.
Depends on what class of tenant you're renting to. I've always provided a refrigerator just with no ice-maker. My normal appliance package is refridge, stove/oven and dishwasher. I advertise washer/dryer hook up but never supply them.
I supply a refrigerator and an oven . Then for fun I have set up a metal wash tub and a wash board set up in the laundry room along with a rope for a clothes line .
I tell the prospective tenant they can use what I supply or they can use the hook ups for their own washer and dryer .
@Anthony Chung I only rent SFHs and never supply laundry equipment or refrigerators. An apartment in our market will have a refrigerator and some have W/D's. I feel that someone renting a SFH should have the $ to purchase these items and in 15 years it's never been a problem.
We install stainless scratch & dents in the kitchen (got a $899 Bosch dishwasher for $236 only had an easy repair broken/bent hinge) & it's amazing how much it's appreciated by the incoming tenants. We get significantly higher rents & so far they have all respected them.
As others have pointed out, it depends on many factors, including the type of tenant you may be renting to, the amount of rent you are charging, what other landlords in the area provide; in other words, the "standard" for your rental area.
If appliances are provided it is important to determine who is responsible for any damages that may occur with these. In the case of a washer and dryer it is not unusual that a lease may contain a clause that these are provided for the convenience of the tenant and will not be repaired if broken during the rental period.
Many landlords who do provide appliances such as refrigerators will include a clause in the lease that if the frig happens to require a repair during the tenancy, they will not be responsible for any claimed damage to food.
Check your state laws if there are any requirements. I always say "the quality of your rental, will reflect in the quality of your applicants." You really need to know your market, and if it's an option, or if you'll just have it sitting vacant because there are no appliances.
If you don't offer a fridge, oven, you're pushing those costs to the tenants, and the likely ones who will take it are the ones with evictions that know they don't have other options. Most tenants don't want to deal with having those appliances and the maintenance.. I'd suggest charging more and including more in the rent!
Go visit other rentals in your area & see for yourself what's "the norm." It differs with every market demographic, price range & type of property. You are not required to provide anything UNLESS it's spelled out in the lease/rental agreement.
Personally, I furnish a fridge & stove. I do NOT want tenants hooking up their own stoves, gas or electric! The fridge is a plus, since most renters around here don't have their own & the majority of properties do include one.
Washer & dryer hookups are available, with the stipulation that all resulting damage is tenants' responsibility. I do not have dishwashers or garbage disposers, ever - in my experience, they are just problems waiting to happen.
But (in apartments & higher-income properties) they're expected. So you'll need to find out what's best for your own locale.
My rentals are in Southern California. I don’t provide refrigerator or Washer/ Dryer or any appliances that are movable. In two occasions I had a set W/D and a refrigerator left behind from previous residents, one tenant wanted to keep the refrigerator, one tenant wanted to remove the W/D. However I put in the contract the refrigerator has no warranties.
It really is a local market thing. I have lived in several states, while moving around in the military. In VA and FL every place I rented had appliances. When I lived in CA, it seemed standard that refrigerators and W/D were not provided. Study up on other rental properties and decide if you go with flow or make your own properties stand out!