What repairs are okay for tenants to make on their own?

[Account Closed]

I have a tenant who contacts me weekly for repairs. Some are legitimate and require a specialist, while others are trivial, such as replacing a sprinkler, and it's getting very tedious.

Which repairs can I reasonably expect or even ask a tenant to repair on their own? My instincts tell me none, but something as simple as buying a new sprinkler from Home Depot and screwing it on isn't hard to do. Thoughts? 

[JD Martin]

In general, none. Items that are consumable - heater filters, light bulbs - the tenant should be expected to maintain as part of the lease. Repair items should be handled by the property owner. The property should be functional when delivered, so I would be suspicious of a tenant that had a non-stop list of items that needed repair. In any case, non-emergency items would be addressed as time permitted, so I would just work it in there. 

My objection to the repair threshold is that tenants may not bother repairing or letting the owner know about anything small, since they don't want to fix it either, and that could end up creating a larger problem. A dripping P-trap might be a $10 part but the rotted cabinet plus install can end up being several hundred dollars.