My tenant wants to fill the role of onsite manager

[Preeti Tibrewala]

I own a 5 unit apartment building in Berkeley, CA. A long term tenant wants to play the role of onsite manager. She claims that the laundry room and trash cans needs upkeep.

She offered this service to get some discount on her rent. I am hesitant to accept this as I don't know this tenant much. We bought the property 6 months ago and I haven't encountered much issue with the building so far.

What's your advice on this?  Should I accept this service? If yes, what kind of paperwork I should get signed. Also, what's the reasonable compensation for it?

Thanks in advance!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Preeti Tibrewala:

As a rule, I do not reduce rent in exchange for labor. If they screw up or fail to complete the job, you've loss the value of their labor and you've lost the rent income. It also puts you in a precarious situation when other disagreements come up.

Tenant pays market rent. You pay tenant for work after the work is done completely and to your satisfaction, just like you would with any other contractor. I only hire the Tenant if a local presence is advantageous and I can get the labor for a discount.

Personally, I would notify all the renters that they need to do a better job of taking care of the trash and cleaning up after themselves. If they fail, hire a cleaner and pass the charge on to your renters.