Tenant wants me to pay to add interior door

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Tenant wants me to pay to add interior door

Gusatvus Johnson
Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 2 votes

I just had new tenants (a group of guys in their 20s) move into a 4-bedroom unit. One of them, who is a contractor by trade, asked if he could install an interior door because it would make the layout of the apartment less strange. This request came after they had seen the unit and signed the lease.

Normally I would say absolutely no to a request like this, but it does benefit me because the current layout of the unit is a little weird, and the apartment should be easier to rent in the future with the new door in place. So I said OK to the door as long as he is willing to handle the work and buy the materials.

He replied that he'd do the work for free but that I should pay for the materials. That's a ridiculous request, right? It wasn't my idea to put in the door, and I never agreed to add the door as a condition of renting the apartment to them.

The tenant seemed really upset that I would not pay for materials, so I'm just looking for confirmation that I'm not in the wrong here.

I'm not worried about the cost of materials (which would be minor -- it's just a basic interior door) as much as setting a precedent with these guys about giving into bizarre requests.

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Mike Franco
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
7y

does the layout affect privacy? If not, forget it, and install one yourself later.

I would never let tenants do any work. Is he a handyman? Can he even install a door correctly?

Who's gonna paint it?

Nope.

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  • Emmy Ifarinde
    Investor · TX (tx) · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    I think the tenant’s request that you pay for materials is a very reasonable request. Based on your post, it seems you agreed with the tenant’s assessment of the weird layout and also acknowledge that this new door would benefit you in the future. You should have a skin in the game and pay your fair share of the project cost. Getting the work done for free and only paying for cost of material is a pretty good deal and you may be in the wrong here

    Emmanuel 

    1Reply
  • Jeff Willis
    CA & NV · Member since 2019 · 216 posts · 378 votes
    7y

    Per your own statement, the door will become permanent to the apartment? You said "..and the apartment should be easier to rent in the future with the new door in place."

    So you are receiving the benefit for a very nominal investment. Yes, you should pay for the door, BUT the installation MUST be per code and accepted by you, properly installed and properly painted to match I have been down this path, and most have never done an adequate installation.

    If it was me, I would hire my own contractor to install the door and keep the Tennant out of it

    2Reply
  • Charles Goetz
    Contractor · Lewisville , TX · Member since 2019 · 63 posts · 57 votes
    7y

    @Gusatvus Johnson In my view, them asking for murals painted on the ceiling or plantation shutters would be bizarre requests. I don't personally think this is.

    You will get replies saying that you should stand your ground and not give in. You're running a business. I would not disagree with that and you have every right in not doing it. However, I believe that part of running a business is making the customers happy. It's much cheaper to keep customers ( tenants) than find new ones every year. If when the lease is up and they move out, and it's likely to happen, would you have a door installed so you don't have to go through this with the next tenant? If you think you would, why not do it now while the labor is free? 

    I would definitely agree that at some point you have to stand your ground but should pick your battles wisely. 

    1Reply
  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    7y

    If YOU think a door is a good idea, I'd take him up on the offer.  Doors are cheap and you can pick on that you like for the unit.  You're looking at trim, hardware and the door itself.  If you don't want the door, the politely say no thank you.

    Ask him when he wants the door and that you will come by in 2 week after delivery of the door to check it out (ie give him a deadline as to when it needs to be done).

    1Reply
  • Bryan S.
    Rental Property Investor · CA · Member since 2018 · 225 posts · 180 votes
    7y

    @Gusatvus Johnson the door benefits you and you think it is a good idea, just bust out the crow bar and open the wallet for the materials.

    I think the tenant is correct.

    2Reply
  • Jim K.
    Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    7y

    @Gusatvus Johnson

    Get your own contractor in there to put in the door if you feel it will help you make money in the future. You have been advised by multiple people to accede to this whole cockamamie work-for-free pay scheme -- I'm going to tell you no, no, no, HELL NO. I'll bet it's not just a simple door slotted into an existing doorway that needs to be put in, is it? Guy's gotta demo an archway and build a frame, right? Maybe even frame up, drywall, and finish a whole new wall with a new trimmed doorway into it?

    Let's say you go through with this. What's to stop Mr. Contractor Tenant from calling you up next week to insist that the alcove tub/shower surround in the main bathroom isn't doing it for him and he'll put in a wheelchair accessible shower with a linear drain for free if you just buy the materials?

    And the week after that, that it's time to update the lighting in the kitchen to dimmable recessed LED cans?

    Don't go down this road.

    2Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    7y

    does the layout affect privacy? If not, forget it, and install one yourself later.

    I would never let tenants do any work. Is he a handyman? Can he even install a door correctly?

    Who's gonna paint it?

    Nope.

    3Reply
  • Gusatvus Johnson
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    @Jim K. yes, part of the reason I didn't want to pay for the materials was that I didn't want to encourage this guy to think that whenever he feels like updating something, I'll happily pay for whatever he thinks should be installed. He has already suggested that there is other stuff (floors and windows, for example) that he believes need to be updated, and I don't want to get into that. I can do most of that work myself anyway, so getting his free labor is not actually much of a benefit to me. Plus, if I'm going to do updates, I'd rather wait until I am ready for new tenants, so I can raise the rent to reflect the updates (and have the selling point of brand-new updates, which is wasted if they are done in the middle of a tenancy).

    I think I'll take the approach recommended by several folks here of just having my own contractor do the door. The cost will still be low, the work will be done right and it will make the tenant happier about this particular thing, all while avoiding setting a precedent for him to feel like he can renovate the entire apartment to his liking.

    If he wants to update a house, he should buy his own house.

    2Reply
  • Jim K.
    Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Gusatvus Johnson:

    @Jim K. yes, part of the reason I didn't want to pay for the materials was that I didn't want to encourage this guy to think that whenever he feels like updating something, I'll happily pay for whatever he thinks should be installed. He has already suggested that there is other stuff (floors and windows, for example) that he believes need to be updated, and I don't want to get into that. I can do most of that work myself anyway, so getting his free labor is not actually much of a benefit to me. Plus, if I'm going to do updates, I'd rather wait until I am ready for new tenants, so I can raise the rent to reflect the updates (and have the selling point of brand-new updates, which is wasted if they are done in the middle of a tenancy).

    I think I'll take the approach recommended by several folks here of just having my own contractor do the door. The cost will still be low, the work will be done right and it will make the tenant happier about this particular thing, all while avoiding setting a precedent for him to feel like he can renovate the entire apartment to his liking.

    If he wants to update a house, he should buy his own house.

    I think that's the wisest decision. You are going to find that this is a type of male tenant you'll see again and again, the young eager-beaver blue-flamer home-improvement enthusiast. If you go down this road with them, sooner or later they get all upset with you for not appreciating and rewarding their labor enough. And it invariably turns out they're never quite as good at fixing stuff as they insist they are.

    0Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    7y

    Really?? What BS. He's paying low rent, and trying to get you to upgrade to a higher rent house without paying an extra dime.

    I've had tenants ask me if I would replace the old aluminum windows from the 1960s with those silly vinyl retrofit windows. They still open and close, and the glass is intact. Change the weatherstripping, and it's good to go.

    I'm not changing any windows. They don't NEED to be changed. I said no, and they didn't make a peep about it afterwards.

    0Reply
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