Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2018 · 7 posts · 2 votes
Long story short: Tenant lets me know the dryer isn't functioning properly. The dryer is still under warranty so I call the company and schedule for someone to come take a look. I immediately let the tenant know the date and time window and she says that works. The day of the repair company calls me and says the tenant isn't home and they can only wait 5 more minutes. I call the tenant and she calls her mother who lives near by to have them head over, but by this time its too late. At this point now I have to call the maintenance people and schedule it again (hopefully I wont be charged)
How do you all deal with issues like this, or prevent them?
Hi @Edward Norman, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets community!
In my leases, and probably in yours, there is a specification on what happens if the Landlord or authorized contractor on landlord’s behalf, is not allowed entry. In essence there is usually a fee associated with it and that fee is paid by the tenant if the tenant caused the issue. So, if your lease has that provision then you can charge that fee to the tenant.
You may be able to charge the visit fee to the tenant and then cover the actual cost of service, since this additional cost was caused by the tenant. For clarity on that I would recommend speaking with a real estate attorney in your area, familiar with your local landlord/tenant laws.
I would make sure that she knew she was responsible for letting the repairman in. Wording plays all the role here. If I was renting and the landlord said "The dryer repair person will be there at 1:00 to fix it" It would not be outside the realm of expectation on my part that "Cool, I'm working at that time they can do whatever they need to, I'll just make sure I clean my socks off the floor".
I often times on these forums say "It is notice, not permission to enter" and I stand by that. It is also not "You are required to be here to let someone in notice" either. Having a tenant that is happy with not being there, letting you enter with notice, fix what is needed while not standing over you is so much better than the opposite. The tenant that thinks they can dictate the time, wants to reschedule all the time, wants to be there and approve repairs is a much worse option. I would clear up the communication issue and plan on having a representative there to grant access to the repair person.
Hi @Edward Norman, and welcome to the Bigger Pockets community!
In my leases, and probably in yours, there is a specification on what happens if the Landlord or authorized contractor on landlord’s behalf, is not allowed entry. In essence there is usually a fee associated with it and that fee is paid by the tenant if the tenant caused the issue. So, if your lease has that provision then you can charge that fee to the tenant.
You may be able to charge the visit fee to the tenant and then cover the actual cost of service, since this additional cost was caused by the tenant. For clarity on that I would recommend speaking with a real estate attorney in your area, familiar with your local landlord/tenant laws.