What repairs are okay for tenants to make on their own?

Question

I have a tenant who contacts me weekly for repairs. Some are legitimate and require a specialist, while others are trivial, such as replacing a sprinkler, and it's getting very tedious.

Which repairs can I reasonably expect or even ask a tenant to repair on their own? My instincts tell me none, but something as simple as buying a new sprinkler from Home Depot and screwing it on isn't hard to do. Thoughts?

JD Martin · Answer

In general, none. Items that are consumable - heater filters, light bulbs - the tenant should be expected to maintain as part of the lease. Repair items should be handled by the property owner. The property should be functional when delivered, so I would be suspicious of a tenant that had a non-stop list of items that needed repair. In any case, non-emergency items would be addressed as time permitted, so I would just work it in there.

My objection to the repair threshold is that tenants may not bother repairing or letting the owner know about anything small, since they don't want to fix it either, and that could end up creating a larger problem. A dripping P-trap might be a $10 part but the rotted cabinet plus install can end up being several hundred dollars.

Jim K. · Answer

I agree with @Sylvia B. that it depends on the tenant but I tend to get tenants who are less mechanically capable rather than more. The very worst you can get is a guy with a lot of cocksure overconfidence and and a smallish, smooth sort of brain, one particularly susceptible to the Dunning-Kruger effect who fancies that he came out of his mother with "skilz" and has no need of learning any now. Long-time Bigger Pockets readers will recognize the type well -- we get a lot of them here as well."Yeah, I can handle it," "Yeah, I got it," "Yeah, I took care of it," are the three phrases that will empty your capex savings very quickly with these types.

Sylvia B. · Answer

It really depends on the tenant. I had one contact me last summer about the air conditioner not working. She had already checked the circuit breaker, changed the filters and changed the battery in the thermostat. She told me she was pretty sure it was the thermostat. I told her I'd get the HVAC people there as soon as possible. She said, "Monday will be soon enough. I don't want you to have to pay extra for them to come on a Saturday."

That kind of tenant I would trust to make minor repairs and let me know about bigger problems.

Account Closed · Answer

They all have my permission to replace light bulbs.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

Be wary of this. If I was a tenant, and my landlord charged me for those small repairs, I'd just not share that they needed repaired. I want my tenants to tell me when things need to be repaired, not hide them from me so I don't charge them.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Light bulbs, change out broken door knobs, or other minor issues that can be fixed without any special tools or training. I typically talk to them first to verify competence.

Jon A. · Answer

I don't let my tenants repair anything at all. Everyone thinks they know how to repair things but they don't . What if your tenant cross threads the sprinkler on and makes the repair more costly? That is just one example that I can think of.

Patrick Soukup · Answer

What risks are you willing to take. You're the owner. A manager will take and allow (hopefully) zero risks and everything except a light bulb would require a handyman hired through the management company. As an owner though, this is your investment. What is more important to you? Time, money, longevity and assurance of the asset, or stress free. Although, at times even if your goal is to spend as little time as possible on a property, you may spend hours dealing with an issue. Or if you're trying to save money by doing the work yourself, you still may have to call a professional service tech in the end and have wasted your time and money.

If you are the owner and manager of your property, you may have a tenant that is super handy and willing to fix your place up while he/she lives there and when they move out you all of a sudden have a much better asset. But if you are not willing to take that risk, than hire a service tech for everything and don't worry about it.

Take each case individually as an owner/operator and don't put a "system" in place for something that shouldn't be systematized. Or take a management approach as an owner/operator and disallow all repairs and require tenants submit all maintenance issues to you in as timely a matter as possible or face possible liability.

Katie Stewart · Answer

As Charles said, I would only allow extremely minor repairs like replacing dead light bulbs.

What repairs are okay for tenants to make on their own?

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