Tenant home for repairs?

Question

This is probally a silly question for most, but ive always used a pm company. If a repair is needed (ex. toilet stopped working). Is the expectation the tenant needs to be home for the plumber to stop by or is the expectation the landlord would be there if the tenant cant make?

Bryan Balducki · Answer

@Rocco Swinney I believe the expectation is that either the landlord or pm will be at the property for the plumber if the tenant can not be present, though I’m sure some leases are written differently. If the tenant can be there and is willing, that is just a plus but shouldn’t be expected, unless your lease specifies differently.

Mary M. · Answer

I self manage 20 units and I learned the hard way to always be there when any work is being done.  Why? Quality of work, expectations of tenants, and to keep the subs from talking to my tenants and most importantly - so I can learn how to do stuff by watching them. You will need to learn how to do may of the repairs yourself, get a GOOD appliance  repair company, and a handyman type person.....  you can watch the handy person and learn how to do the basic stuff which really helps (and they are always happy to teach, I find) As for your job - you may need to find folks that work on the weekend etc. or use your lunch hour.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It's the tenant's responsibility. I don't make my mortgage company escort the plumber when I have a problem at my house.

I give the vendor my tenant's contact information and they coordinate it. If the tenant is willing to allow the vendor in unsupervised, that's an agreement they can make themselves.

I only escort the vendor if there's a legitimate reason to assist or if I want to use it as an opportunity to inspect.

Bill Ward · Answer

I usually provide the contact number of the tenant (with their approval) to the repair man. They can coordinate a time that works for them. My current tenants prefer to be home and with as little of my contact as possible. My previous tenants never cared when I needed to go there.

Bud Gaffney · Answer

@Rocco Swinney yes. Someone must be home. Landlord, PM, or Tenant. Never allow a vendor to enter the property without someone over 18 being there.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Someone should be there.  Let the tenants know when the repair person is coming.  I've had tenants who were there instead of me and others where I insisted on being there as the current tenants tried to get the repair person to do extra.

Chris Herrera · Answer

@Rocco Swinney luckily this is all workable. If you’re going to take on the PM yourself then just work out the schedule with the tenant and contractor.

If you’re working then see if the tenant is available and if they’re not then just keep trying to reschedule.

If it’s not urgent then it can wait a day or two for one of your schedules to align which is what we have to deal with when we self manage vs hiring it out so that either you or the tenant is home

Scott M. · Answer

Plumber and tenant work out a time that works for both of them.  If this is impossible or the tenant is not cooperating then the landlord can step in.  If you like your plumber and the tenant is being difficult then you should step in the middle to help coordinate.

John Warren · Answer

@Rocco Swinney this is actually one of the more challenging items when it comes to property management, especially in B and C class multi units. I manage over 100 doors that we own now here in the Chicago suburbs and I think it is mission critical that someone from management be there to oversee and do quality control on certain types of repairs. I especially want to make sure pest control is done well, or that large scale CapEx projects are done correctly like unit turns, code violations, etc. We don't go to every routine plumbing call or no heat call at this point, but we keep detailed notes of how the mechanicals work at each building so that we can trouble shoot virtually.

The other item I have noticed is that most of our no heat calls and a lot of our maintenance calls in general come in on the weekend and after hours. This actually may play into your strength if you are doing this as a side hustle, but it is maddening as you try to build a business in this space. This is just human nature though, as the tenants are home after work and notice things not working at those times.

Gail K. · Answer

My father was a "building superintendent" (think janitor) for many years in the Chicago area.  Paid by a property management company who also had electricians, plumbers, painters, etc. on contract.  Back then many PM companies worked out a "family" type deal; the janitor got the basement apartment rent free but always had to be on call and the wife was expected to do her share by cleaning the hallways on a weekly basis (this was fine with mom; she LOVED to clean).

Each time a repair was required he always accompanied the worker into the unit.  If he had to address a repair himself he took my mother with him (this was especially true if the renter was a female).  He was not worried that one of these contract workers would steal something from the tenant; he just wanted it covered that a tenant did not later claim that either something was missing or an inappropriate "action" had taken place.

I learned from this and if a repair is needed inside an occupied rental property I always work it out to meet the repair person at the property.

Tenant home for repairs?

Most Popular Reply