Tenant is unreasonable

[Leo Shilkrot]

Tenant texted me saturday morning saying ac is not working. I offered to stop by the same day (last time the battery needed to be replaced in the thermostat) but he said it was not a good day for him. Sunday morning he started calling me yelling that it had to be fixed now, the apt is hot and he has small kids. It’s mid september in NYC, the temperature is between 65 and 80 degrees. When I got there on sunday it was 78 degrees inside with a window opened. On monday I brought somebody in and had the ac fixed. Today (wednesday) he texted me again saying the washing machine doesn’t spin well and the dryer needs two cycles to dry. He refuses to clean the vent in the wall. Two questions: how much time can I possibly have to fix the washer. I’m thinking of taking a look at it over the weekend and bring somebody in early next week if necessary. Second how to make him shut up. I know the rent in NYC is very high but I can’t be coming to his apt daily.

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Leo Shilkrot:

Tenant texted me saturday morning saying ac is not working. I offered to stop by the same day (last time the battery needed to be replaced in the thermostat) but he said it was not a good day for him. Sunday morning he started calling me yelling that it had to be fixed now, the apt is hot and he has small kids. It’s mid september in NYC, the temperature is between 65 and 80 degrees. When I got there on sunday it was 78 degrees inside with a window opened. On monday I brought somebody in and had the ac fixed. Today (wednesday) he texted me again saying the washing machine doesn’t spin well and the dryer needs two cycles to dry. He refuses to clean the vent in the wall. Two questions: how much time can I possibly have to fix the washer. I’m thinking of taking a look at it over the weekend and bring somebody in early next week if necessary. Second how to make him shut up. I know the rent in NYC is very high but I can’t be coming to his apt daily.

 Put a process in place for reporting issues. It could be a maintenance request form. Let him know that when reporting issues, he needs to make his property available to resolve the issue. He can't tell you it is not a good day, then tell you it is an emergency. 

As far as the washer and dryer, I personally do not provide those appliances. That removes any need for me to repair those appliances. Washer and dryer are very mechanical and therefore can break easily. It is also common for tenants to overfill these appliances and then they do not work properly. 

My dryer at my home takes two cycles to dry. Even when I was younger and went to the laundry mat, I remember paying for two dry cycles. You probably need to look at the washer / dryer and determine if that is just how they work or if they are broken. 

If you send a repair person, let the tenant know they are responsible for the cost of the service call if no problem is found. 

You can't really make tenants shut up. It seems the AC problem was legitimately your responsibility to fix. If the appliances are your responsibility and they are broken, then that falls on you too. If things are broken, why would you expect him to shut up. It sucks to spend money, but a landlords job is to keep the property in good repair. I replaced two AC units this summer and repaired two others. It is just part of the business.