water bills due to leaky toilet flappers

[Bruce Kozak]

Fellow Investors: 

After six (6) years of renting out properties, I still haven't yet figured out the best way to mitigate those tenants who fail to keep an eye out for the occasional leaky toilet flapper for which some claim the Landlord is responsible for occasional  high water bills.  It's a struggle to convince some of them that I believe it's their responsibility to listen for water running over a flapper and if and when it occurs to alert the property management team immediately.  Some have even said they left for a couple weeks and returned only to discover the problem.  I say they need to absorb this risk and expense, and take steps to prevent: listen and report for leaks, and to be extra safe, before heading out for vacation, by closing the ball valve behind the toilet.  

I am interested to know how you handle such tenants.  I have been telling those tenants these types of expenses they try to put on me will come into consideration when their leases are up for renewal.   I would like to put this in the lease that they are responsible for all water expenses even if it is due to a failed plumbing condition, but want to ensure I can properly enforce that requirement through proper language in the Lease Agreement.

Bruce

[Andrew S.]

@Bruce Kozak 

I do agree with you that this is (or should be) the tenant's responsibility.  That said, I have paid for enough $100 service calls that ultimately came down to replacement of the $5 flapper that I have decided to just buy a bulk quantity and replace ALL flappers in ALL my rental properties on a regular basis as preventive maintenance (I do the same with air filters for the HVAC because we all know how good the average tenants are at replacing those...).  While the quality of these flappers has improved over time, people will toss those bleach tablets into the tank which really chew them up.  Yes, I could try to pin this on the tenant and make them pay for the service call, but it's not worth the hassle.