Driveway Repair Required?

Question

Proactively making fixes to a LTR property we acquired 3 years ago and the tenant asks me if I’m fixing the driveway. Sends me these pictures and says she’s almost tripped and worried about someone getting hurt. They just signed a renewal for their third year to remain in the property and they are the only tenants we’ve had since we acquired it. The driveway doesn’t look bad to me but I feel like she’s putting me on notice? Lease does NOT say tenant is responsible for driveway, only landscaping and lawn and tenants are required to carry renters insurance. How would you respond?

Thank you!

Greg M. · Answer

That driveway is a safety issue. Fix it. NEVER ignore safety issues.

And if that driveway doesn't look bad to you, have someone else start inspecting your properties.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

As @Greg M. said, NEVER ignore safety issues, particularly after your (good) tenant has pointed it out to you. If she trips and breaks a hip, the cost that you're trying to avoid will seem very small all of a sudden.

You could do as @Henry T. says and remove loose pieces and pour a couple sacks of concrete there...but I'd make sure it done right and is very flat.

And I doubt that your insurance would cover an issue now that it's been pointed out....

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Shannon S. send the pics to your insurance agent and ask if they would cover a personal injury lawsuit caused by the the driveway condition.

Michael S. · Answer

I am not clear why you would not repair that area of the driveway - from the first picture, it appears that the mailbox for the property is on the same side as the bad portion of the driveway, which does, in theory, make this portion of the driveway part of a daily walking path to and from the mailbox.  In addition, the tenant clearly put you on notice that they will hold you responsible if they trip and fall and break their arm due to the driveway.

As @Greg M. noted, you should never ignore safety issues;  especially when the tenant identifies an item as a safety issue.  If this were my property, I would have already asked my property management staff to get quotes to fix the area without hesitation.  I wouldn't view this repair as an elective update or upgrade whatsoever - it's solely addressing a safety issue.

Todd Rasmussen · Answer

I wouldn’t fix the driveway, the major hole does not seem to be in a walking path nor where someone would enter or exit a vehicle. It looks bad so I’d do it in the next couple years assuming the whole neighborhood doesn’t look like yours. I would do something about the walkway if that’s the main path to get to the house as it’s highly traveled and therefore has a more significant risk of loss.

I would worry that you are training your tenant that lease renewals result in upgrade requests being granted and id be quick to offer them a lease cancellation for convenience if they didn’t feel safe in the house. Usually language along the lines of this lease renewal was offered based on the current condition and finishes of the home as it is today. If you’d like a new driveway, we would consider installing one based on a $xxx higher lease amount.

By responding and fixing the pathway Issue you show that you make repairs reasonable to keep the property maintained in a safe condition upon discovering that a condition exists. For the same reasons you can articulate why you needed to fix the walkway you can articulate why it’s reasonable that the driveway does not pose a safety risk. I would hang my hat on the reasonableness of that action but it’s your house and your risk so also your decision.

Owen Rosen · Answer

An insurance agent can't make this call and it's not the right question to ask.

The question is whether or not the driveway is a safety hazard.  It appears to be one.  The tenant pointed it out on top of your duties as the property owner.  You now have an internet post acknowledging you were aware of the issue.

So, would the insurance company cover you considering you had a maintenance issue that you were aware of and chose not to fix?  They probably would but you're giving them reasons to make things more difficult.

Just patch the driveway and make it safe.

Henry T. · Answer

Take out the loose pieces and pour a bag or two of ready mix in there. You'll be done in 20 minutes. You can decide some other time if you want to do a new driveway.

Shannon S. · Answer

Thank you for your insight! Todd, we are doing some fixes around the property but also let the tenant know we would wait until move out to do them if they preferred not to renew (their lease was up within 30 days). We did a minimal increase in rent of $25/month. Agreed on trying not to establish a precedent.

I certainly don’t mind fixing some of the bigger cracks, but definitely didn’t want to repave the whole driveway quite yet. I did ask the tenant what she was looking to be done and she said there was just one rock bothering her. I’ll see what she proposes and have our handyman and concrete guy take a look too. Thank you!

Alan Asriants · Answer

Yeah that looks pretty rough. You should take care of it. Thats a potential lawsuit waiting to happen..

Noah Worley · Answer

I would at least meet in the middle and find someone to repair that bad spot, that does look pretty rough.

Driveway Repair Required?

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