Plumbing Who's Responsible

[Chris G.]

Recently I've changed the lease we've been using to make the tenant more responsible for "plumbing issues" it includes tenant being responsible for unclogging toilets, toilet flapper valve, and drain lines when foreign objects are found in them. Does this seem fair? For the previous leases that doesn't have this requirement and a tenant needs to have the toilet unclogged would charging them half for the plumber to go out seem reasonable since they could technically do it themselves.

The main reason for this change is recently a lot of tenants have had requests for unclogging toilets and drains and the plumber cost is high for these small jobs, I think the tenants could be held responsible or do it themselves in most cases. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Chris G.:

It is possible to put something in your lease that makes the Tenant responsible, but it may not hold up in court if they ever challenge it.

The Landlord is required - by law - to maintain the home. However, you can charge the Tenant if the repair was caused by their abuse or neglect. The problem is proving it. If the plumber discovers the line is full of wet wipes or someone tried flushing a diaper, that's clearly abuse and the Tenant should pay for it. If it's just a regular clog, I don't know how you can morally hold the Tenant responsible when it would happen to anyone.