Rent Deduction From House Maintenance

[Zhihan Wan]

Hello, happy weekend! I thought it would be better to throw a new post here about the rent deduction question. We had an leaking issue in the last post when the previous tenants stayed for their last two weeks. It was caused by AC unit dripping. After they moved out and the new tenants soon moved in, we must have the handyman to fix the upstair carpet and board and downstair ceilings. Since the tenants usually go out to work and our handyman will have to book 3 days in a week to have the work done, the tenants want to discuss about the rent deduction or prorated rent for July. We will try to coordinate with handyman to come over the weekends, but the tenants seems will be out for weekends as well. Is it normal to give them rent discount? If so, how much should we consider, like do we need to calculate by their salaries by hour or how much day/hours spending so they will be deducted from the rent? May I have any advices from you guys? Thank you so much!

[James Mc Ree]

Repairs are a nuisance,  but an expected part of all housing. It looks like everything is working and available except for the leak. I don't think the tenants would be due a discount unless your lease says otherwise.  Check your lease.

You might want to give them a very small discount since this is the start of a new relationship. If you do, you should tell them this is not something to expect for future repairs. If you don't, I would just apologize for the inconvenience and get the work done.

I only give repair discounts when there is a significant impact on the features or use of the property,  such as no a/c in the summer.