Tenant Issue looking for feedback

Tenant Issue looking for feedback

Member since 2019 · 26 posts · 32 votes

Hello BP, I am actually making this post from the tenant perspective. We had our property manager send out someone to fix our sink trash disposal and for some reason they are trying to charge us for this. Does this seem normal? We are just tenants and did not break anything. The disposal simply just was not working because of "too much food" but it was not broken and no parts or anything were replaced. Why are they trying to charge us for this? I am in the process of disputing it with the property manager and being as we are in CA and I know the tenant laws here favor us a lot I am willing to fight this. We have been amazing tenants for 3.5 years. Never paid rent late and always very responsive and respectful to our landlords. All annual inspections have gone very well and have never had any problems with the property or company before. A prior repair we had recently, they tried to bill us for too, but after talking with them about it they realized they were in the wrong and took it off. Over the the 3.5 years we have lived there we have paid approximately 100k in rent. Doesn't this seem kind of petty on their end?

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Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y

Well You probably over loaded it and there’s a reason you are being charged . Does your lease state you are on the hook if you plug up the toilets or garbage disposal by your neglect ? I bet it does . have you ever had this happen before ? Sounds like there is more to the story than what’s being presented here . A lot of landlords remove these disposal and dishwasher or electrical doo dads for this reason . I’m sure you know the California laws and will use these to your advantage .im just glad I’m not a landlord in California I know that 

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  • Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    7y

    Well You probably over loaded it and there’s a reason you are being charged . Does your lease state you are on the hook if you plug up the toilets or garbage disposal by your neglect ? I bet it does . have you ever had this happen before ? Sounds like there is more to the story than what’s being presented here . A lot of landlords remove these disposal and dishwasher or electrical doo dads for this reason . I’m sure you know the California laws and will use these to your advantage .im just glad I’m not a landlord in California I know that 

  • Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 72 posts · 35 votes
    7y

    Hey @Adam Bush My advice would be to refer to your lease. If it ends up in court a judge will use you lease as a basis for any decisions. If it does not say in your lease that they can charge you for minor wear and tear then I would not pay it if I was you. Use the exact wording in your lease as the main reason supporting your argument.

  • Member since 2019 · 26 posts · 32 votes
    7y

    @Dennis M. This is pretty much the whole story. We have had similar issues before such as hair clogging a sink and when they fixed it there was no charge. We are very good tenants who take care of the property and rarely have issues or maintenance requests.  I will look at our lease and continue fighting this. It's not a lot of money, I am more fighting over the principal of the matter. 

    @Kadeem Wells Good advice, I will see what the lease says about this. Their only argument so far was that we caused this to happen so we are getting charged. I am currently waiting on the head manager to call me back to discuss the matter.

  • Contractor · Oxford, MA · Member since 2018 · 807 posts · 745 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Adam Bush:

    @Dennis M. This is pretty much the whole story. We have had similar issues before such as hair clogging a sink and when they fixed it there was no charge. We are very good tenants who take care of the property and rarely have issues or maintenance requests.  I will look at our lease and continue fighting this. It's not a lot of money, I am more fighting over the principal of the matter. 

    @Kadeem Wells Good advice, I will see what the lease says about this. Their only argument so far was that we caused this to happen so we are getting charged. I am currently waiting on the head manager to call me back to discuss the matter.

    Your landlord cut you a break before, I would have charged you for the clogged drain too. If nothing was broken and nothing needed to be repaired, it is your fault and your responsibility. 

  • Property Manager · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 216 posts · 110 votes
    7y

    Adam,

    In California, a general rule is if the tenant abused/broke it, the tenant is generally liable for it. This includes plumbing and garbage disposals. Your previous hair-clogged-sink issue may have been something you were liable for, but the property manager/landlord decided not to charge you for. Your lease will probably state something to this effect.

    Regardless, why did the garbage disposal stop working? Do you know how old it was? If it you believe it was over 10 years old, then you may have an argument not to be charged. But if the garbage disposal was new when you started tenancy 3.5 years ago and there were never any issues with it, you may be out of luck this time.

  • Property Manager · Castro Valley, CA · Member since 2016 · 212 posts · 110 votes
    7y

    I often see disposals misused.  
    We often find glass, metal pieces, rice, coffee grounds, bones, toys etc.  All items that should not go in a disposal.

    https://www.familyhandyman.com/cleaning/15-things-you-should-never-put-down-a-garbage-disposal/

    Remnants of things that went down there that shouldn't have are still inside it.

    It is hard to tell without the information the repairman or plumber provided the property manager for them to make that call.

    It sounds like if you were not charged for the clogged hair, you don't have someone just overzealous looking for any reason to charge back.  Also, getting a hair strainer for your drain can prevent hair clogs if you don't like pulling out the accumulation from time to time.

    The property owner is probably talking to the manager asking them the same question, "If this seems caused by the resident, why am I paying for it?"

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