Compensating Tenant for Inconvenience of Repair of Kitchen
This started out with me trying to do something nice for my tenant! LOL... I was going to replace the carpet in 3 bedrooms, and replace the tile in the kitchen, right after she signed a new lease. However, my installer discovered a problem with the subfloor in the kitchen. It was wet and damaged in a couple of places. I called a plumber out the same day to check for a leak, they tightened some loose bolts, and the tile installer said he would come back in a few days to finish the job. When he came back out, he thought he could do the job, but decided the subfloor was too damaged. He advised me to hire a contractor to replace the subfloor. I was able to find someone who could come out that week, but he said that he could not just repair the patch of subfloor. He said he also needed to remove the cabinets, which had water damage from a previous plumbing issue, repair/replaced damaged wood in the cabinets, and then put in a completely new subfloor. Then the tile guy could come back and finish the job, and he and his team can re-install the cabinets and counters. They are also going to replace some drywall in the wall that had the leak. That was very disappointing news, but OK, fine. I put down half the amount, got it scheduled for the following weekend and said let's do it.
Well, the Friday before the work was scheduled to begin, my tenant had a potential COVID-19 exposure, and we had to postpone all the work. Her tests came back negative, and we rescheduled for this week. Then my contractor called me this week, and he had potential COVID-19 exposure. The repairs got pushed out by one day in order to allow him to get his test results and confirm he is negative. Tenant OK'd this, but then called the next day to ask if we could reschedule for next week because she is having guests and the repairs would be an inconvenience. I explained that I could ask, but before I do, wanted to double check to see if it would be OK with her if this pushed things out by another week or two. I was concerned that it might be difficult to reschedule because we have multiple contractors coming, and the steps need to be done in order. I also didn't want to ask this of my contractor, knowing how frustrating it would be to cancel on everyone.
She said it was OK to keep the repairs as scheduled, but she is (somewhat understandably) annoyed at the inconvenience. I get it. It is frustrating to have your kitchen torn up, and it is frustrating to have things rescheduled. However, the COVID stuff is no one's fault—we are testing and rescheduling for everyone's safety. And the repairs are mandatory. I can't put a new tile floor on top of a rotten subfloor. She is angry that she has not had full use of her kitchen for 2 weeks, and may be delayed a week or so more, and she seems annoyed that it takes a few days sometimes to get someone out to the property.
I can't really control what date my contractors can come out (I don't know what other jobs they have on the schedule, and am coordinating multiple different people, and things need to be done in order)—but I am wondering if it might be a good idea to offer her some compensation for the loss of use of her kitchen. I was actually planning on doing this anyway, but was waiting until ALL the work was done, because there could be a delay at any step in the process. But maybe it's better to offer it now, to help ease the frustration. So far, it has been 2 weeks, and the kitchen is still usable, but the subfloor is exposed. And during next week, until the tile is done, she won't have her cabinets and counters. If all goes well, the work could be done by the end of next week, but I would anticipate up to 4 weeks total if there are plumbing issues. I am kind of trained to expect the worst at this point!!
The rent is $1420. I am thinking of offering $500 to compensate for up to four weeks with the kitchen in various states of repair. This is just a rough estimate—It feels like a kitchen is worth about a third of the house. My goal is to be fair, but my concern is creating an expectation of getting compensated for every repair... and of course, I am concerned about costs.
The past couple of years with this property have been so expensive and frustrating at times, that I am tempted to sell. It used to do great, but I had about $9000 in repairs last year, and this current debacle will total at least $6000, and I am only one month into a new one-year lease.
I guess my questions are: (1) Would you recommend compensating this tenant? (2) Does $500 seem fair, or a different amount?
Thanks! I appreciate any advice. You guys are always such a help.