What is Normal Wear and Tear

Question

I have a duplex and the tenant has a broken faucet.  The sprayed handle is detached from the hose - I want to deduct it from the security deposit, but how do I know this is not considered normal wear and tear ?

Jonathan R McLaughlin · Answer

@Stephen Jahn I wouldn't punish honesty. Seriously, replace it, let them know you understand accidents happen and you won't charge/deduct but let them know repeats are on them. Nickel and dime them and they will nickel and dime you. This assumes you are working with a fresh slate not a history of damage and good tenants. This approach will keep good tenants good.

Tim Herman · Answer

@Stephen Jahn  Even with the tenants son playing with it, it shouldn't have broken unless age had weakened the hose. I would replace it as my cost. That is why you have reserves.

Aigo Pyles · Answer

I think it is not that much to replace the faucet.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Dude, a replacement spray nozzle is less than $20 and takes a few minutes to put in. Why even bother?

There are two things I use as a basic foundation for ordinary wear-and-tear:

HUD GUIDE (scroll down to the last couple pages)

Inter-NACHI Life Expectancy

Keep these handy as a reference, but they are not written in stone.

My policy is this: do I have before/after documentation and am I willing/able to defend the charge in front of a judge?

I manage 400 rentals and almost never get a complaint about charges. Why? Because I document with hundreds of photos before and after they occupy. I may not have a kitchen spray nozzle documented, but I can document floors, windows, blinds, carpet, doors, walls, lights, and so many other things that nobody is going to push back on a sink sprayer.

Also remember these guides are just guides, not hard-and-fast rules. I've seen carpet 30 years old in pristine condition. The guides would say there's no value in 30-year-old carpet, but that's obviously not true because it was in excellent condition when the tenant occupied. If a tenant trashed it and I had to replace, I wouldn't charge them full price but I would definitely charge them something. It's a bit of an art form.

James Mcsweeney · Answer

If you've been doing this right, you should have been putting aside 10% of your monthly rent for maintenance and another 10% for capital expenditures and hopefully another 5-10% for vacancy... That money isn't really yours - it's for maintaining your property. Use it to pay for preparing your property for the next tenants. In the end - all of these repairs are going to cost way less than going to court.

Matt Ziegler · Answer

Quickly responding to small maintenance or repair requests will keep your properties, and your residents happy!

This in my experience will reduce turnover and increase cashflow over time.

Clearly if they are habitual problems, you have a different issue.

Stephen Jahn · Answer

@Jonathan R McLaughlin Thanks for the input Jonathan.  I was intending to set a precedence that I won’t be financing the abuse of the property (there have been several other issues although none have been at their fault).  At some point the line must be drawn and this seemed like a clear situation in which they would be “at fault”.  However, you have a good perspective - this was not an intentional break, it is a small dollar value, and in the long run, having an good and honest tenant is more important than recovering the small fee for repair. FYI - these are inherited tenants and not ones that went through my screening process. Anyway - thanks for your comment.

NA Jones · Answer

Those are a wear item. 10 minutes and $5.00 to repair.

None of them are well made and common to need replacement.

But can have the same ones last 15 years or just a couple years.

Jonathan R McLaughlin · Answer

@Stephen Jahn also, in most states you can't take anything out of the security deposit before they move out.

Stephen Jahn · Answer

@Tim Herman good point - but it seems like the sprayer was pulled with excessive force. The tenant also admitted the break happened while his 5 year old was using the sink. In your opinion, would that change things?

What is Normal Wear and Tear

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