Major and minor repairs are a common recurrence when renting or owning a investment property. What actions you take from the second you notice something not working or the first day a tenant notifies the owner of the problem will greatly strengthen the relationship between the tenant and landlord or could hurt it quickly.
Both parties have equal responsibility to let each other know of faulty items when they are known about, when a tenant notifies their landlord that something is not working like the in the middle of the summer time when the temperature is 95 degree inside and the tenant calls the owner the owner has an obligation to immediately call a local air condition professional to inspect the problem. Now the owner has 7 days from notification to cure repair issues unless unseen issues delay them and while I am not a Lawyer I can tell you from experience in my on property issues arise that is no fault of the owners in getting problems fixed in a timely manner.
Owners Time Frame To Fix.
Owners have a responsibility to fix or repair items in a timely manner once properly notified by their tenants, Tenants should always send a email or text message and or certified letter to the owner ton confirm receipt of the issue so that the owner is properly notified of the problem . Never just call your owner and tell them about the issue , never just leave a voice mail for them because this is not a guarantee the owner actually received the notice from the tenant. Remember that landlords have a life as well and life happens, family problems, sickness, deaths in the family, last minute out of town business meetings and so on. I always advise owners to have a secure way for there tenants to contact them in case of emergency repairs so that the tenant should never suffer longer than average.
What is not considered a major repair, I like to joke with tenants about what not to call and bug the owner about like Smoke detector batteries, a dead roach in the bathroom, the microwave just stopped working ” Turn the oven on and use this for a few days”,
Should the Tenant Pay For A Repair?
Never should a Tenant or Renter pay for a repair without getting the Owners Written Approval. Doing so leaves the tenant in a sticky situation if the owner tries to come back after the fact and not agree to pay or deduct that repair for the rent because in most lease agreements it clearly has a section that states “No Repairs Or Alterations Without Owners Written Approval“. So always get it in writing from the landlord, property manager for the property.
For more information on dealing with repair issues feel free to give me a call, Once again I am not a Lawyer or an Attorney.
My name is David Rogers, and I’m a licensed realtor who loves to provide high-level service. Please let me know how I can serve you!