All Forum Posts by: Mike Adams

Agreed w/most everyone’s reply @Travis Tuttle is right why didn’t they let you know ahead of time. Something like this could’ve been an easy fix before it got worse, safety first. @Bruce Woodruff I’ve used a similar trick for hollow/solid core doors where they get out of wack. Remove the door, get a plastic zip-tie cut into place of existing screw hole & insert back all regular screws. But on the other hand if you’ve no time to go over to the place & do this bc of a busier schedule a possible handyman/door installer would do it. After their payment take that bill to the tenant for full reimbursement. Be prepared for them to only have electronic payment too. So have a Cash app or PayPal app on your phone just in case no cash. 

@Mike Adams I´m not sure if you meant it this way, but insinuating that your broken door or a belief that they won´t treat your place well relates to  their income level is very inaccurate, bias and stereotypical. When you have preconceived negative images of a specific segment of society it can subconsciously prompt you to treat them according to your bias. Also, if something so insignificant as a door is causing you so much uneasiness about paying for it, it´s very difficult to see what you would be willing to pay for. If a door off the hinges prompts eviction, you are in for a very turbulent career my friend. It sounds like you are new at this and I can tell you, the worst thing you want to be seen as is the difficult landlord that all the tenants cant stand. It leads to problems. I do wish you luck but I am giving you food for thought! 

You take the door off and and use body filler (Bondo) or fast-repair epoxy putty (SteelStik) to fill the stripped-out screw hole. Wait until the epoxy dries and drill new pilot holes. Reinstall. The bathroom door gets the most use of all the doors in a house. Rigging the hinges with longer screws, toothpicks, or putting in plastic hole anchors, three common quick-fixes, would be too flimsy for my rental properties and probably yours.

Some landlords have a tendency to quickly blame the tenant for everything. Doors take a ton of use and generally speaking, issues with hinges have nothing to do with tenants. A properly adjusted door can open and close a million times on hinges and never have an issue. I have a 70 year old property with all original doors and hinges, but when I bought the property, some of the doors were not shutting right. At the first sign of a door not shutting properly, it needs adjustment. That could be new shimming or sanding/cutting some thickness off the door. When a door is hard to close, it puts stress on the screws/hinges. That can pull screws out. It is really your responsibility as a landlord to keep doors operating properly. Unless you can prove the tenant damaged them, you need to cover the expense.

I would caution you to fix this immediately. Using a door with damaged hinges will make the damage worse every time you use it. If the hinges are still in good shape and the door is adjusted properly, it may be as simple as putting in longer screws. Cheaper doors may be harder to fix. @Jim K. had some good tips for fixing holes that are stripped out.

I would recommend hiring a handyman to fix it, just because I have a feeling it is out of your skill level. I say that because anyone asking "should the tenant fix hinges" probably isn't very knowledgeable or handy. 

Go look at the door.  It sounds like the first one came off and because they didn't say anything, the weight of the door is now causing problems with the second one.  Just go and put in longer screws.  As Gail said you can sometimes glue one or two toothpicks in the opening and put the same screw in and it works. The longer screws should also work  It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes of your time.  It is also a good chance to see the condition of the house.

If their lease is up, tell them you aren't renewing it.  That is not the same as an eviction.