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Do you give a rent discount if one room unusable?
We had a water heater leak that flooded one of the kids bedrooms. Dry wall and carpet are being replaced so the 2 kids have to share a room. Do you ever give a rent discount in this type of situation. Right now the tenant is refusing to pay rent until it is done. How would you proceed?
Do you require renter's insurance for your tenants? Renter's insurance covers loss of use. Do you have a clause in your lease that states that you are not responsible for loss of use?
I have both of these, and when an SFR flooded this year and deprived one of the tenant children of a room for a couple of weeks I issued them a rent rebate. I calculated % of space lost, how long it was lost for, then had the manager send a rebate check to the family.
I don't know what your State laws are, so this is just words, not specific advice. If they refuse to pay, I'd issue a pay or quit notice and possibly offer to let them break lease for a reduced or waived fee prior to evicting them.
As mentioned, i would check with insurance (yours mainly), as this may be covered. I dealt with a flood in a large apartment complex and the Owner's insurance policy covered loss of rent.
Thank you for your replies - I will check with the insurance company
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You are actively getting the damage repaired, so your tenants can't just refuse to pay rent.
And even if they were, I'm fairly certain they'd have to file something with court and pay the rent to a court escrow account. So they are in the wrong.
You might offer a small discount for next month's rent...but nothing too crazy. You are handling the situation and offering a discount is out of the kindness of your heart. Plus, their attitude isn't really helping you want to issue a discount.
Assuming rent was due on the first, we're now halfway through the month and no payment? When did this water heater cause the damage? How long are these repairs taking to complete? I can't imagine it'd take more than a few days, right?
Originally posted by @Lisa P.:
We had a water heater leak that flooded one of the kids bedrooms. Dry wall and carpet are being replaced so the 2 kids have to share a room. Do you ever give a rent discount in this type of situation. Right now the tenant is refusing to pay rent until it is done. How would you proceed?
I'm curious how long the repairs are taking? If it's more than a week, I can understand where the tenant is coming from. If you haven't yet offered to reduce rent and they have loss of use, they might be having trouble seeing the light at the end of the repair tunnel. They do owe rent, but likely they are feeling stressed. Having inspectors and contractors in your house sucks. The very opposite of "quiet enjoyment".
Check your policy for loss of use. You might be entitled to funds based on a proration of unusable space. You could then offer compensation to the tenant. Most tenants I've worked with will accommodate repairs and inconvenience for fast repairs. In this case they get a new paint job and new carpet. However, right now they think they are being asked to pay for something they aren't getting. I can think of no other business where we ask our customers to pay in full and on time when the product or service isn't provided in full or on time.
Originally posted by @Nicole A.:
Assuming rent was due on the first, we're now halfway through the month and no payment? When did this water heater cause the damage? How long are these repairs taking to complete? I can't imagine it'd take more than a few days, right?
Hopefully we'll get more details on the timing. But many LLs don't have a PM or GC they can call to act right away. There's the insurance adjuster and then quotes for drywall demo, flooring demo, possible mold remediation, drywall replacement and mud, possible electrical involvement, priming and painting, carpet and pad. It can be done in less than 5 days with the right teams. Can take the whole month when it's pieced out retail or when there is specialty flooring that needs ordering.
The OP is describing the loss of use causing the children to share a bedroom. But what if the loss of use was the master bedroom causing the parents to sleep in the living room? Or what if it were to the guest room that they rarely use. IMO it's better customer service to look at the loss of use objectively. They were paying for space they can't use, period. No one expects to pay the same rate at a hotel if they change your reservation from a suite to single, regardless of fire or flood.
If the only issue is the one child's room and it doesn't affect any other part of the home, then even a rebate is not in order unless it is taking an extended time period, like more than 30 days. I believe even if they complained and were successful, you would likely get 30 days to fix it unless it makes the unit uninhabitable. I would be on the side of the pay or quit notice, especially with their attitude, and I would even include a printout of the landlord/tenant law that shows them they cannot withhold your rent for this and how they should go about it if they'd like to try.
We don't have a team in place and it is in Austin (we are now in San Antonio) so it has been almost 2 weeks. The rent was due on Oct 9 (another thing we are going to fix when it comes time to renew - going to make all rents due at the same time).
Our insurance policy does not have loss of use. I am leaning towards giving them a break on the rent, my husband does not want to. They described a small leak in the water heater, when he got there the room next to it was flooded, so he feels they shared in the responsibility.
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Every landlord should have at least a partial team in place. You never know when you'll need help so it's good to know a handyman, electrician, general contractor.
So what has been done in the past 2 weeks? Even without a team, it's easy enough to look up a contractor in the area to go out there and start repairs, right?
Yeah, I agree you should have all rents due on the same date. Mine used to be due on the 1st and grace period until the 5th before they were deemed late. I changed it all now to being late if not received by the 3rd because I felt that was plenty long enough to wait to receive rent and know if I need to move forward with rent court or not.
No discount on rent. Discounting drops your guard. Dropping your guard creates future new problems.
Frank
Originally posted by @Lisa P.:
We don't have a team in place and it is in Austin (we are now in San Antonio) so it has been almost 2 weeks. The rent was due on Oct 9 (another thing we are going to fix when it comes time to renew - going to make all rents due at the same time).
Our insurance policy does not have loss of use. I am leaning towards giving them a break on the rent, my husband does not want to. They described a small leak in the water heater, when he got there the room next to it was flooded, so he feels they shared in the responsibility.
How much longer till the unit is completely restored? Do your tenants have reason to believe that this could drag on awhile? Who is doing the repairs? The tenants owe rent, but it sounds like that they may think they can push the issue by withholding rent. They are incorrect, on that front, as withholding rent is a bit more complicated than that. But it's a waste of time and money for either of you to force the issue in courts, IMO. This assumes they are good tenants and they want to stay. Have they been good tenants up to this point?
Originally posted by @Nicole A.:
Every landlord should have at least a partial team in place. You never know when you'll need help so it's good to know a handyman, electrician, general contractor.
So what has been done in the past 2 weeks? Even without a team, it's easy enough to look up a contractor in the area to go out there and start repairs, right?Yeah, I agree you should have all rents due on the same date. Mine used to be due on the 1st and grace period until the 5th before they were deemed late. I changed it all now to being late if not received by the 3rd because I felt that was plenty long enough to wait to receive rent and know if I need to move forward with rent court or not.
So, say you're the tenant. You've got one unusable room, it's been two weeks. The landlord thinks you should share in the responsibility because you reported a small leak that turned out to flood a room....by the time someone got there. What would you do? Send the rent and a condolence card? :)
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I agree with you, @Account Closed, regarding offering a small discount in rent. I have done this myself in the past.
We still don't know how long the response time was between them reporting the leak and the OP's husband showing up. San Antonio and Austin aren't terribly far apart, so if he went right over, then a few hours? We're just guessing here.
So if no repairs have yet to be started, then yes, I don't blame the tenants attitude. However, they do of course need to go about this the right way (withhold rent legally).
Originally posted by @Lisa P.:
We don't have a team in place and it is in Austin (we are now in San Antonio) so it has been almost 2 weeks. The rent was due on Oct 9 (another thing we are going to fix when it comes time to renew - going to make all rents due at the same time).
Our insurance policy does not have loss of use. I am leaning towards giving them a break on the rent, my husband does not want to. They described a small leak in the water heater, when he got there the room next to it was flooded, so he feels they shared in the responsibility.
I think you've got bigger problems than your tenant. You've got a spouse and co-owner who wants tenants to "share in the responsibility" of damage from your failed water heater. That's a tough one.
He went the next day. Repairs have been started, should be done this week (so about 2.5 weeks total). They haven't been the best tenants but I can totally see it from their point of view. We are fairly new and inexperienced, but have definitely realized we need to have a team in place - working on it.
Originally posted by @Nicole A.:
I agree with you, @Account Closed, regarding offering a small discount in rent. I have done this myself in the past.
We still don't know how long the response time was between them reporting the leak and the OP's husband showing up. San Antonio and Austin aren't terribly far apart, so if he went right over, then a few hours? We're just guessing here.
So if no repairs have yet to be started, then yes, I don't blame the tenants attitude. However, they do of course need to go about this the right way (withhold rent legally).
My point was in response to the reactionary responses we get here on BP. We don't know any of the details but somehow the tenant is usually presumed in the wrong and needs to be trained or set straight. Now we find out the husband thinks the tenants should "share in the responsibility" of the damage, because the initial complaint was worse than reported. That attitude is a landlord-tenant relationship killer, and not conducive to speedy repairs and timely rent.
I agree with your husband to a certain extent but some tenants have never been responsible for this stuff so what is big or small they don't necessarily know. They don't realize how fast things can get bad, where to look for leaks, or how to turn off water (I had one who did not know how to plunge a toilet) or use a bucket. It is important to say things like call us if it gets worse. Ask them do you know where the water shut off is? You want them to call for things like this and not get in a blaming contest.
For compensating them use a very objective approach and round in the tenants favor. 20% of the house was not available for the month = equals a 20% discount. If it looks too small increase it. This is only a credit because it was significant and for weeks. It is not for every little issue. Explain this to them. Rent is due on the 9th, they need to pay the rent. You could potentially discount for the current loss of use now. Explain it though and maybe say the late fee is waived providing they pay all due by (your visit to the house).
My guess is they are steaming over the time frame to get it fixed and a timeline would help as well. Use this as a learning experience and for your husband I would point out that if he doesn't want property damage try to stay approachable (no matter what he thinks in his head). I wish you had called back with all this water beats saying... you stupid idiot.
Now if the flood was entirely their fault like due to a kid toy in the toilet I would not discount the rent but that is not the case here.
Originally posted by @Colleen F.:
I agree with your husband to a certain extent but some tenants have never been responsible for this stuff so what is big or small they don't necessarily know. They don't realize how fast things can get bad, where to look for leaks, or how to turn off water (I had one who did not know how to plunge a toilet) or use a bucket. It is important to say things like call us if it gets worse. Ask them do you know where the water shut off is? You want them to call for things like this and not get in a blaming contest.
For compensating them use a very objective approach and round in the tenants favor. 20% of the house was not available for the month = equals a 20% discount. If it looks too small increase it. This is only a credit because it was significant and for weeks. It is not for every little issue. Explain this to them. Rent is due on the 9th, they need to pay the rent. You could potentially discount for the current loss of use now. Explain it though and maybe say the late fee is waived providing they pay all due by (your visit to the house).
My guess is they are steaming over the time frame to get it fixed and a timeline would help as well. Use this as a learning experience and for your husband I would point out that if he doesn't want property damage try to stay approachable (no matter what he thinks in his head). I wish you had called back with all this water beats saying... you stupid idiot.
Now if the flood was entirely their fault like due to a kid toy in the toilet I would not discount the rent but that is not the case here.
So true about the timeline. Some people really need communication and a firm deadline, otherwise they think they are being taken advantage of. Even if everyone is working their butt off to get it fixed, even if they received a credit.
Having young adult children with their own rental leases has been eye opening how much house sense you don't have at that age or unless you've owned a home. I thought it was just my experience with low income tenants. The kids call me first with questions but are hoping I'll say it's minor so they don't have to call the PM or landlord. So they don't have to be home or let the landlord enter when they aren't there. A bucket under the kitchen sink that fills in a day is not minor. Sparks flying out of outlets is not minor. The pilot light on the 1950s stove that won't stay lit and fills the kitchen with gas is not minor. (Thankfully those issues weren't happening in the same unit.) Needless to say I make them call the LL or PM about everything.
He hasn't actually asked for a discount - he just decided to not pay rent so waiving the late fee is a good idea. I also like the idea of having a walk through with the tenant to show them where the water shut off, etc is (not sure if my husband does this already).
There has been a history of the tenant not letting us know when there are issues and I think that is where my husband's frustration lies. He sends texts that say things like "the kitchen faucet has been leaking for 2 months". We get these texts about the time he is late paying rent.
@Lisa P. I had a water heater leak this summer that flooded a bedroom and then last month a roof leak that damaged the same bedroom. The tenant had been looking to move and I didn't want to get stuck with a vacancy with winter right around the corner. I offered a rent discount for this month in exchange for them signing a 6 month lease extension to get me through the winter and into spring. They happily took the deal and at least now I'll have someone who has been a decent tenant for a little longer.
If a tenant is renting a 3 bedroom home, and reported that one of the rooms had a leak 6 months ago, but became uninhabitable as of 3 months ago (can’t figure out where the problem lies and outside paneling is going to be coming off to search further), should they receive a reduction in rent? Is it legal to continue to make them pay full price even though they’re essentially down to a 2 bedroom?