Repairs - Who should pay Tenant or Landlord?

Question

I have a good tenant in my unit for the past 3 years. Lease is up for renewal. On recent inspection of the unit I noticed the screens on the back patio are all ripped. It appears the damage was caused by their cat, which they did not have at the time they first leased the unit. Cost to replace screens is $140. Would you pay for the cost to replace or would you ask tenant to pay? My initial reaction is to ask the tenant but on the other hand I have only needed to do minor repairs to the unit over the past few years. The tenant rarely bothers me for anything.

Then again, I just had to have ac coils cleaned for $300 because they were not putting in the ac filter. Man of the house previously handled but he is no longer living there so the lady said she did not realize their was a primary filter for the unit. She was changing the filter on the register. I went ahead and ordered 6 months of filters for them to keep on hand.

Jon Holdman · Answer

Are they moving out?  If not, I wouldn't do anything?  Screens and blinds just do not survive very well.  When they move, fix them and deduct the cost from their deposit.

Shawn M. · Answer

@Jon Holdman no the association does not require a certain type of screen material. Actually the association is really good run by a great group of people...I am actually the President...LOL! Been on the board for over 10 years, can't get off because nobody wants the job. Recently told the property manager to follow-up with several unit owners that are not up keeping their property when to my embarrassment he showed me a photo of one unit with all the screens torn and said it was my unit. Told him to send the unit owner a letter..LOL!

Suzie B. · Answer

Since you had a no pet policy and they obviously slid one in on you, I would ask them to kindly replace the screens at their expense.  You didn't ok the cat, you aren't ok with the damage of one living there.

I would also consider charging them a monthly pet fee if you had made them aware of the no pet policy when you signed the lease with them (we do $25 a pet- but see what is standard in your area).  Pets are extra wear and tear on a property... and cats can be a big problem, trust me!  I don't want another cat problem!  My nose cringes at the thought.

Roy N. · Answer

@Shawn M.

Did you conduct a move-in inspection of the unit with the tenants when the first occupied the unit?  Were you aware of the cat?

We always perform a move-in inspection which is signed by both us and the tenant.  Pets are handled on a case-by-case basis and we require the tenant to carry a pet damage rider on their tenants insurance.

If the cat tore the screens, we would advise the tenant we were going to have them replaced when they leave and that they will be invoiced for the cost.

Derek W. · Answer

I would tell the tenant "oh, it looks like your cat who is not on the rental agreement tore my screens. Bummer!  I trust that you will fix this soon, right?"

There is NO way I would pay to have ripped screens fixed (unless I was days away from a section 8 inspection lol)

Arron Sweeney · Answer

It's a personal choice but I would never let a tenant have a cat.  It's impossible to get rid of cat pee odor once it's there without ripping out whatever has been soiled.  No kitties.

Jerry W. · Answer

@Shawn M. I would be more upset about having a cat than torn screens.  I previously allowed 2 tenants to have cats, both were fine, I allowed a third with a well mannered cat.  When they moved out, I had to put in $2K of new carpet, after I painted every floor with Killz to because I could not get the odor out I finally painted the walls too because the smell would not go completely away.  I have a rule now NO CATS.  I see a cat you get eviction papers.  I even had a person try to claim her 2 cats were service animals, I threw down the bullshit flag and she went away muttering about suing but she was not allowed to rent because of the cats.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

Honestly, I would charge them. At this new lease I would access damages and also institute a pet policy in the new lease. In my case it would be $25 a month pet rent or one months pet deposit

Account Closed · Answer

Jon,

Here in Dallas, Texas most areas are getting rid of the HOA's because non of the board members want to live in the HOA area.

Joe Gore

JERMAINE LUCAS · Answer

Jermaine here

As making the tenant replace broken items in our buildings we never allow that, we found that what a tenant think looks good only looks good to that tenant, we take care of all the repairs and charge the tenant if we feel the damage was cause by their negligence.

Repairs - Who should pay Tenant or Landlord?

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