Yard Maintenance Responsibility/Rent Reduction discount request

[Derek Gold]

I have a 2 part question. First off, I am the Landlord of a residential home in Texas and with the recent storm my tenants lost power for over 36 hours at the property which caused the tankless water heater to freeze over, have parts fail and it began leaking water and gas. The water heater is on the outside of the home so there is no damage to the property. As you can imagine it has been very difficult to get a plumber over there and get the water heater fixed or replaced as many people all over our state are suffering from plumbing issues from the storm. I've done my best to get the water heater replaced but my plumber says he can't find any water heaters right now because the demand is so high. It's been a little over a week now since my tenants haven't had water and they have requested I give a rent reduction for the inconvenience. The property is not uninhabitable they just don't have hot water for now. Does anyone have advice on how to handle the situation? Am I obligated to give a break in rent?

Issue #2 caused by the storm is the property has a beautiful large succulent plant in the front yard landscaping that died from freezing and I stated to the tenant that they are responsible for yard maintenance which includes all flowers, bushery, rocks, etc. However, they are claiming they don't feel they should be responsible for damages caused by the storm. I also want to mention they did not take any action to protect the plant like covering it. I would never want to be an unfair Landlord but I also don't want to be a landlord who doesn't enforce the lease and give them the idea that they can just simply ask me to cover expenses that they agreed to be liable for in the lease.

Can anyone help me make sense is these issues? I deeply appreciate it. I've included an image of the plant and the sections of my lease that I'm interpreting to make my decisions. 

[Nathan Gesner]

This was an unusual event outside everyone's control. You didn't have a plan in place to protect the water heater. Why would you expect the Tenant to know how to protect a plant?

If the tenant has renter insurance, have them file a claim to see if it will cover staying in a hotel or some other accommodation. You may also consider filing a claim, but it may not be worth it.

I recommend you create a one-page guide (for yourself and/or tenants) on how to protect the home during cold snaps. They don't happen often, so it would be good to have something to refer to rather than trying to remember what you did ten years before.