Help With Maintenance Protocol

[Sean Autry]

Hi BP Community- I'm dealing with my first maintenance call on my first rental and I have two questions: 1). When sending a service person out to your rental (plumber, electrician, etc), I know I have an ethical (and perhaps even legal) responsibility for my tenants safety, assuming this person will be in the unit alone with my tenant. My question is- how are other landlords handling that? What can I be doing to ensure tenant safety in these situations? 2). Let's say I have a plumbing issue that crosses a day or two, leaving my tenants without access to water (toilet, shower, etc). Are other landlords out there offering their tenants any type of compensation (of any type) for the inconvenience? Is there any legal obligation there? (I know that's more a question for an attorney- but just tossing it out the community to get perspectives). Thanks!

[Account Closed]

Hi @Sean Autry

Congrats on your first maintenance call :-)

It is a good idea to have a good vendor list, preferably BEFORE you have a problem. At a minimum, you need to have a trusted handyman, HVAC and Plumbing contractors. To make move in / out run smoothly, you’ll want a good house cleaning service, carpet cleaner, pest control and landscaper.

There are few ways to find these service providers.

Personal recommendation is the best. If you live in the same city/town as your rental, hop on Facebook and ask your friends. You can also join the private Facebook group for the town / neighborhood of your rental. Ask that community for recommendations. 

You can look for service providers on sites like Yelp and Angie’s. If I can't get a direct referral, I at least want to see other peoples’ reviews and experience.

Another excellent resource is the Affiliate section of your local chapter of NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers). Find out what service providers the “big guys” are using.

For the big ticket services, I like to price compare a few common service issues BEFORE something happens.

For example;

Plumber:

• Replace a 50 gallon water heater (or whatever size you have) normal and after hour pricing, in case it goes out on a weekend
• Snake / clear a clogged toilet ( I have a photo album of all of the things our plumber has found in clogged drains over the years ) don’t judge!
• Repair / replace garbage disposal - this is a good one to ask your handyman too. Our handyman saves us about $75-$100 on a replacement disposal

Handyman:

• Fix broken sprinkler head
• Repair / replace garbage disposal
• Install toilet repair kit
• Install new ceiling fan

HVAC:

• Annual Maintenance Service
• Coil replacement
• Refrigerant leak / recharge
• New Condenser

If you do a little research up front, you can make an educated decision on what service provider is going to be best for you. Then, when something does go wrong, you won’t be as stressed because you know who to call and have a good idea on the cost of repairs. 

As far as plumbing issues spanning more than one day, that is VERY rare. If it turns out that an extensive repair is necessary requiring the tenant to go without water / bathroom service, you can arrange to put them up in a hotel for a day or two or offer them a credit, if they have family or friends nearby. again, very rare, though.