As A Landlord, Be Strict With What You Fix

 Subscribe in a reader

As a landlord for over 10 years I am always asked by those who have never been a landlord, "Isn't it a pain in the butt when you get calls in the middle of the night to fix something?" My answer is always no. Because that is the truth, it is never a pain, and in this article I will tell you why.

One of the hardest parts about being a landlord is making sure the property is in good condition. In livable condition. In a condition that a local inspector will obviously pass.

You need to know how to separate the items that absolutely have to get fixed immediately and those that can wait because they are detrimental to the tenant or the property. Being able to master this will go a long way to insuring your own piece of mind in this business.

To start, your lease should outline exactly what you will be responsible for fixing. Such items include, if the hot water heater goes, a roof leak, the heater itself, and other items which the tenant has no control over. Now if you can show that the tenant deliberately and/or maliciously ruined an item above, then you can take other action.

Now that you have outlined in your lease which items you will fix, you then need to outline the response time. In most cities and states, there are statutes in place in which landlords must adhere to. In other words if the hot water heater goes, there may be a law in place, in your area, that tells you how long you have to respond before you "get in trouble" so to speak.

Outline the response time and plan of action in the lease as to how you will handle the necessary items. This way the tenant knows exactly what is expected, when it will be completed, and who will be coming over to fix it.

Once you have the necessary repairs outlined you need to handle nuisance repairs. What I mean by that, are, the items that do not have to be addressed immediately. As crazy as it sounds, changing a light bulb is one. I can't tell you how many calls I received for that. Of course I put in the lease that the tenant is responsible to change their own light bulbs, yet it never stops them from calling.

Other items would be a loose doorknob, carpeting issues and so on. In my lease I have placed in there that any damage caused by the tenant will be paid in full by the tenant. So if I go to the house and determine that the tenant caused it, I fix it and then they get billed for my time and supplies in the next invoice. You must be stern with this. If you give any leniency, trust me they will run with it. Also on a side note, if your invoice is lets say, $1000 and $750 is rent and $250 is for the repairs, yet they only send you $750, you will apply the first $250 to the repairs and the remaining $500 to the rent, leaving them $250 in default of their rent. You will then send them a notice that they are behind on their rent, and that if not paid by a said date, you will begin eviction proceedings.

You need to check your area for the legalities of how the above example must be handled as all areas and laws are different. Since most of my rentals are in New Jersey, I give you examples of what I am able to handle here.

Now lets say the tenant calls about something that needs to be repaired, it truly wasn't there fault, yet is not an absolute necessity. Simply put into your lease a provision by which the tenant is responsible for the first "x" amount of dollars to all non essential service calls. My lease calls for $75. This means the tenant will pay the first $75 of the service call and I will cover the rest. This helps cut down on those late night, the faucet is dripping calls.

As you can see a lot of the hassle can be handled by outlining it in your lease. Once it is in there it is up to you, as the landlord, to uphold it so the tenant understands what they are responsible for.

By: Michael C. Podlesny

About the Author
Michael C. Podlesny is the owner of Rental Property Repair, LLC. A rental and investment property repair and renovation company that services Mercer & Burlington Counties in New Jersey and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

To inquire about their services you can visit them online at http://www.rentalpropertyrepairllc.com/.