Hello friends,

I am preparing a duplex and hope to get tenants signed in a bout a month. The kitchen appliances left over are bad and are being removed. In the past I have NOT included appliances with the lease. This means that if supplied with the house(which sometimes they are) and they go bad-it is the tenant's responsibility to replace them. They then own them. That removes me from having to purchase them and maintain them. Many times new tenants already have appliances and it makes this transition smooth as well. I also never include clothes dryers or washers even if I have the hookups. 

Is this common practice? Or do most people buy and maintain appliances at their units? I am not renting premium units-but they are not slums either. We are strictly speaking of Stove/Oven, Fridge, and Microwave. None of my units have dishwashers.

Depends on market. Where I live, everyone gives you a fridge. If someone didn't they would be at a disadvantage as anyone renting there would have an added expense to move in.

On the flip side, if you provide appliances and all the tenants bring it with them in your market, they may not know what to do with their fridge and avoid your unit for it.

@Kyle Galloway

In the Northeast and in Florida, we provide the appliances and in nicer apartments, also the washer and dryer. This however is not common practice in many places in the mid-west. Have you checked rentals local to you and what they are offering?

@Charles Carillo I have not. I suppose I am lazy!

@Kyle Galloway , in my area stove and refrigerator are always included. Washer and dryers are sometimes included. Microwaves are included in nicer units usually as a microwave hood. 

I include stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer in ALL my units. For a C class unit I provide used white appliances. In nicer B class units I buy new stainless kitchen appliances. 

In nicer B class units I will also sometimes provide a dishwasher and/or microwave hood. 

If you want the best tenants of whats available you want to set yourself apart a little from the competition. 

I supply fridge and stove.

I never (anymore) supply washer/dryer. They are an extra maintenance issue and when they break you are expected to repair them. I do not get any more rent for having them. Most of my tenants have their own already anyway.

I supply dishwashers where I can. I replace the built in microwaves when they break, but do not provide them on a normal basis.

We do what @John Underwood does with the exception of some new apartments we did. We included washer/dryer. 

When I show homes, they are complete with all appliances.  I also will remove them if the tenant prospect indicates they have their own, rent is not reduced.  However...I have an addendum that allows for the itemization by type, mfgr, model, serial number and current market value of each appliance I leave. (yes, I've had them walk out the door!)  Without that info, it's hard to grab them by the wallet in court.  I buy good, used reconditioned appliances from the Habitat for Humanity and they've never sold me a lemon.  I also have language in that addendum that defines who has what responsibility for maintenance, repair, limits of expenditure based on features of appliance and cost to repair.  Once the limit is met, it becomes solely the responsibility of the tenant to solve the problem.  I remove any non-working appliance and leave it's spot vacant.  Properly maintained, appliances fail based on one of two situations: intentional negligence (misuse) and unintentional negligence (spill hot oil on a stove).  95% of my appliance problems have been intentional negligence.  They initial each portion of the addendum, sign and date and it's made part of the lease.  Or they don't rent from me.

We supply a stove and usually a dishwasher. That's it.

This is good info. I am usually able to find a "set" of fridge and stove for around $500 that are well kept and fully functional. I think we will err on the side of being "nice" and include them. Thank you for the feedback everyone!

Market dependent......in my are of CA, we supply a stove and dishwasher..... rest is on the tenant.....

When we have a unit in TX, the tenants expected all of it.... then my second tenant had a washer/dryer so I had to store mine....was a PITA.....

Very market dependent...... ideally I would only supply the dishwasher ......that's kind of a built in type of install with water supply etc, so I'd rather not have tenant taking that in/out etc.... rest of the appliance are pretty easy to move etc

Joining the chorus that it depends on the market, although I had never heard of a rental not coming with a fridge and stove until recently. One thing to consider is the damage tenants will do to your units moving the appliances.

@Kyle Galloway

I don’t think I would get any renters in my market if I did not include a fridge and oven

I’m loathed to include a dishwasher but I’ve been advised in my high end market, I need those extras to attract busy tenants with families.

I could imagine if someone was in a vacation short term market, or a seasonal construction market, you could get away with a mini fridge and no oven.