Is landlord obligated to fix appliance during eviction proceeding

Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 3 votes

Hey, I have filed eviction for non-paying tenant, the court date is a week away. The tenant texted me this morning that they want to go to court, because they believed they can argue for lower rent. At the meantime, the washer dryer is broken, and they want it fixed asap. Am I obligated to fix it now? Should I wait till after the court hearing?

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Mike McCarthy

Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

@Sue Chen I would definitely call an appliance guy and schedule them for 2 weeks out. That way you can honestly tell the tenant and the judge that it’s scheduled to be fixed. You’re doing your landlord duty!

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Mike Franco
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
7y
a washer dryer doesn't affect habitability, so it's not like they can withhold rent for that. And besides, they're not paying rent anyway, so they're already withholding the entire amount.

So I would just drag that out, especially since most places have a public laundromat. Find them the nearest coin-op, and tell them to go there while you 'try to find a manufacturer approved qualified technician'

Just curious though, why do you think they can argue for lower rent? are you running a slum house?

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Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
parts can take weeks to get esp on Samsung appliances ask me how I know!!!
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Nick C.
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
That's a new one, they think they can convince a judge to lower their rent? If you have a signed lease I don't think you should be worried about that. What state are you in?
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Sam Shueh
Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
You want them to be OUT. Show the judge the X day pay or quit notices, warning letters, a summary of their payment or lack of payments, Firm with your intend, Get them out,
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Jo W.
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo NY · Member since 2017 · 68 posts · 33 votes
7y
Sue, not sure in which state you are.
Here in NY washer and dryer are not something the tenant can hold the rent for.
In my leases i have an addendum that the landlord is not in charge of fixing appliances.
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Mike Franco
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Nick C.:
That's a new one, they think they can convince a judge to lower their rent? If you have a signed lease I don't think you should be worried about that. What state are you in?

I've never heard of lowering rent, but they can try to convince the judge withholding rent was justified.
If the hvac, electrical systems were not up to code, among other BS reasons, they could get away with not paying. Ages ago, I had a couple professional tenants do that and get away with it.
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Terrell Garren
Rental Property Investor · Concord, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
@Jo W. - Your addendum is interesting. Can you tell me a little more - For example, do you provide the initial appliances? Tenant is responsible of any and all repairs? Even if they stay 10+ years? What if they decide to replace your broken appliance with a cheap used appliance? If they repair or replace an appliance and move soon after, can they ask for a refund or take the appliance? I like your idea, however, just a bit of the devil in the details.
Best, Terrell

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Mike McCarthy
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Sue Chen I would definitely call an appliance guy and schedule them for 2 weeks out. That way you can honestly tell the tenant and the judge that it’s scheduled to be fixed. You’re doing your landlord duty!
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Jo W.
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo NY · Member since 2017 · 68 posts · 33 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Terrell Garren:
@Jo W. - Your addendum is interesting. Can you tell me a little more - For example, do you provide the initial appliances? Tenant is responsible of any and all repairs? Even if they stay 10+ years? What if they decide to replace your broken appliance with a cheap used appliance? If they repair or replace an appliance and move soon after, can they ask for a refund or take the appliance? I like your idea, however, just a bit of the devil in the details.
Best, Terrell

Terrell, I do provide all the appliances aka Washer, dryer, garbage disposal, dish washer, refrigerator, and stove.
In the higher end 2 units i have the appliances are brand new (Got a great deal on them from home depot) and the tenant is responsible to deal with Home depot when it's under warranty. After the warranty the tenant is responsible for any repair under 150$. If it's a major repair and is caused by the tenant neglect the tenant is paying for it. If the tenant want to use his own he needs to get my written permission and then i remove the appliance.
At the end of the lease the appliances needs to be in good working condition.

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Sue Chen
OP
Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 3 votes
7y
Thank you all!
As for the question on why the tenant think they can ask for lower rent, there's a very long back story, let me try to summarize. I took ownership of this auction property in NJ last year, it came with the tenant. I wasn't given any information on the tenant from the seller (bank owned), unknowing that the bank has reached court settlement with the tenant to vacate the property at a date few months after my closing. The tenant has not paid any rent for months to previous owner or the bank since the foreclosure proceeding. When I finally got in touch with the tenant after closing, we entered a new lease where they live for free till that settlement date where they should vacate the property, and I gave them 3 months at discounted rate after that, and then the following 3 months at market rate, I also gave them flexibility to terminate the lease at anytime. I was hoping that will give them plenty of time to find a new place within their budget. After the first lease (6 months) ended, we entered a new 1 year lease at the market rate, with the same flexibility to terminate at anytime. They have been paying rent, albeit with a lot of pain every month to chase for payment and deal with lot of demands and complains. Then, for some reason, last month, they straight up refuse to pay, stating that the increment of rent from what they were paying to previous owner to the current market rate is illegal. So, I was forced to file eviction.
Now, they owe two months rent plus late fee, yesterday, they informed me that the dryer is not working and they want it fixed asap. I am wondering if I should wait till after the court hearing next week to address the dryer issue, after all, they are "withholding" my rent anyway.
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Jo W.
Real Estate Agent · Buffalo NY · Member since 2017 · 68 posts · 33 votes
7y
@Sue Chen I agree with @Mike McCarthy first tell them that you want to see the problem, that will give you the opportunity to go into the unit and take pictures which will be an evidence if they trash the place.
Then you can call a tech and schedule for 2 weeks later.
Reminds me when my tenant was late on rent and when i sent the written demand for rent they texted me at 9 pm "the hot water is not working for two weeks already - please fix" and i responded immediately "I'm heading over now to fix it" and surprisingly they "figured out" how to light the burner themselves... :)
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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
7y
What does your lease say about maintaining appliances and what you provide? You should do that, whatever it is. If your lease says you provide a washer & dryer, and agree to maintain it, you should have it repaired if it broke. Especially if you are going to end up in court. I have a saying: "Always make the other guy look like the unreasonable a******". If you are going to be in front of a judge, you don't want to be the one refusing to do what the lease says you will do.

In any case, you've dug yourself quite a hole by keeping these tenants. You took the easy way out - dealing with people already there, that had been essentially squatters - and it is coming home to roost. You'll learn from this experience and do things different next time (hopefully!).
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Mike Bonadies
Property Manager · Washington Twp, NJ · Member since 2017 · 152 posts · 169 votes
7y
Hi @Sue Chen. I am sorry to hear about your situation. Inhering tenants isn't fun, especially when they are a problem one from the get go. Your property is located in NJ and there are a slew of unique landlord-tenant laws that you have to abide by. I love BP but there is a lot of stuff that BP teaches that is not enforceable or illegal in the state of NJ. That said, non-payment of rent is one of easiest elements to enforce in NJ. Let me see if I can provide a few pointers.

Is your property in an LLC? If it is, you need to have an attorney represent you in an eviction case. LLCs cannot represent themselves in landlord-tenant court. You may get lucky and have a judge look the other way especially if this is your only rental but your case could get thrown out if you try to represent your LLC in court. If this property is in your name then you can represent yourself.

All that being said I would still get an attorney. Evictions are a process in NJ. Even if you win the eviction you need to then get a lockout date set and a warrant of removal. If you move them out and there is property left in the building then you will need to issue a 33-day letter. Bottomline there are a lot of steps and you need to make sure you do each of them carefully.

Back to your current eviction. If they have not paid this should be an easy one. There are no noticed required and your attorney can just file for non-payment. If they challenge you and say they are withholding rent they can only do so with an escrow account. If they are not placing that rent into an escrow account and showing proof of payment then they are still not paying. As for a reduction of rent, I am a landlord and Property Manager in South Jersey where there are no rent controls. In North Jersey there are rent controls. In the rent controlled areas is the only area where I see something like that flying.

As for appliance, @JD Martin hit the nail on the head. Look at the lease. Follow that first. Otherwise, fix it anyway. You do not want to give a single shred of evidence that there is a landlord retaliation going on which is a HUGE no-no in NJ.

Best luck and if you need contacts for people in South Jersey (in case your rental happens to be there) please feel free to DM me.
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Sue Chen
OP
Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 3 votes
7y
@JD Martin yup, you're right on, huge lesson learned here, which is the bright side of this ordeal, I've learned a valuable lesson, gained some good experience and hopefully wiser next time :)

@Mike Bonadies thanks for the details response, do you have contacts in Middlesex County?
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Mike Bonadies
Property Manager · Washington Twp, NJ · Member since 2017 · 152 posts · 169 votes
7y
@Sue Chen I'll PM you
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James MasottiPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Washington Township, NJ · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 976 votes
7y
Originally posted by @JD Martin:
What does your lease say about maintaining appliances and what you provide? You should do that, whatever it is. If your lease says you provide a washer & dryer, and agree to maintain it, you should have it repaired if it broke. Especially if you are going to end up in court. I have a saying: "Always make the other guy look like the unreasonable a******". If you are going to be in front of a judge, you don't want to be the one refusing to do what the lease says you will do.

Pure gold from this very wise man
Podcast Guest on Show #312
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