Rent increase due to excessive maintenance requests

[Cong Vu]

Hi everyone,

I have one-year lease with the tenants. Tenants moved in in February but have requested maintenance very frequently. It has cost me $4000 since they moved in.

The most common issues is plumbing. They use “flushable” wipes and clogged the sewer line. The lease explicitly discourage these items but of course they deny using it. I saw the wipes in the bathroom and the plumber also found wipes in the sewer line.

The lease agreement unfortunately does not include a provision to raise rent due to excessive maintenance requests but in my tenant orientation video presentation, I did mention rent will be increased if excessive requests and the tenants signed to acknowledge that.

Can I increase rent due to this reason? Is it legal to increase rent in the middle of the lease agreement? Thank you!

[Karl B.]

If there are wipes found in the plumbing by the plumber and you notice a container of wipes sitting on the counter... give them the plumbing bill. 

It also helps to take a photo of the wipes sitting on the counter (as well as what the plumber finds - a gross photo no doubt but it's good proof in the eyes of the law) in the event you need to sue them for not paying the bill they should be responsible for.