Renter never changed out furnace filter and froze up A/C, should they pay?

[Steven Fowler]

I have some very good, professional renters in my place. Have never paid late or had any issues. They have been there for 2 years. The wife called me yesterday and told me the a/c was not working. Company comes out to take a look and calls me and tells me the furnace filter hasn't been changed out in a long time, like years, and it froze up the whole unit. The lease specifically addresses maintenance like this. The bill was $180. Should I just suck it up, since they never give me any issues, ask them to pay the entire bill, or ignore the issue until they move out and address it with their deposit?

Thanks!

[Aly W.]

We used to give our tenants the A/C filters, but they would usually forget to change them. Now we have them on a quarterly maintenance plan where my contractor changes them and also checks the drainage. This gives us the chance to inspect every 3 months. Win win.

If it's not in the lease that it's their responsibility, you should change them yourself every few months and make sure to put it in the lease when they renew. Or let them know you'll be by every 3 months to change it. Then you'll know it's done, and done right :)

For our SFRs, the tenants are responsible for the yard.