Tenant minimum to pay for damage

[James Conaway]

Is it legal to require a tenant to pay for damages to units regardless of cause? Similar to a deductible for insurance?

I am being told by multiple landlords they put a clause in the rental agreement that any repairs below $100 or in the case of one landlord even any cost/reason is on the tenants regardless of cause.

An example being a front door being kicked in due to a burglary would be on the tenant to pay.

I suppose its the landlords way of managing high maintenance tenants to like to complain about every little thing.

What is your policy on repairs when the cause could be the tenant, but no proof is available?

[Shannon Slade]

During the lease you can charge them from their SD on a repair that was caused by the tenant or their visitors if your repair the problem.  Then have them pay the amount back to SD. Note you will have to put this in writing and get to know your states property code.

You may set yourself up for problems down the road with a $100 and below they are responsible to repair.  Once they move out you do not want to walk into they house and find they had a drip under the sink and ruined your cabinet.

Door being kicked in due to a burglary is not the tenants problem in my opinion, they had the door locked and someone wanted in. That is your responsibility to fix the door jamb.

High maintenance tenants sometimes can be spotted when meeting to show the home, if not then that is a part of being in this business. Sometimes it sucks!  What I have noticed is when showing a property and the potential tenants want to paint, add/repair a fence, add gutters or just have a ton of questions about changing the look you may have a high maintenance potential tenant.

If i have pictures that the problem was not present when tenant moved in and it looks deliberate then I charge their SD. Be careful to know the difference between wear and tear and tenant damage.

More than anything get to know your states property code so you do not violate the law.  Last thing you want is to wind up in court because of a charge you made on a tenants Security deposit and didnt send the proper letter or have proof of the charge.

Good Luck