Who is responsible for keeping a French drain clear

Question

I have a sfh that has a French drain in the front of the house. They called this morning and said the basement was wet. I just left and seen that one said of the drain is completely buried where it’s supposed to dump out. The other side is mostly clogged. Who’s responsible for keeping the ends clear so the drain does not clog? They are responsible for yard upkeep so I’m assuming it’s on them to simply take a shovel and clear the ends out but not sure.

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

@Reggie Rearden a French drain will drain all along the length of the pipe. Most or all of of the water will be gone by the time it gets to the end which is why there is so much gravel all along the run. Any left over water generally will not pose a problem but yes debris should be removed. I don't have any SFR anymore, when I did I always had a gardener maintain the properties. It really depends on the tenant and can they be trusted to perform this work. In the end it is your investment.

Jim K. · Answer

I don't think its every tenant's implicit understanding that they are supposed to intensively maintain exterior property drainage inlets and outlets on their properties. Did you TELL them when they moved in that they were supposed to maintain the French drain outlet? Or is it only now, that the basement is flooded and they have significant property damage down there, that you are making them aware that there's a French drain on the property and it's on them to keep the inlet and outlet in good condition?

Reggie Rearden · Answer

Not a problem. This is why I only have 1 sfh. I wanted to see how I liked it compared to commercial. Luckily I do put back 15% of gross from every property for expenses/ vacancies, so it’s not a big deal for us. Money is already reserved. I would do more but I have no feeling in my right hand and have very limited use of it due to an injury at one of my commercial properties. But that’s a totally different story! It sucks bc I have to rely on a handyman for everything now. Hard lesson learned!

Jim K. · Answer

@Reggie Rearden

I'm sorry, Reggie, that was me being smarmy. I didn't mean to say that you had bad intentions.

But I know it's damned hard accepting that you're going to have to pay for a crapload of unexpected expenses in an SFR when they crop up. It's natural to want to shift the responsibility for those expenses on to the tenant as they slice your profit margin for the year down to nothing and start to hack into the bone for a loss.

And this one big reason is why self-sufficient handymen typically do well in SFR, especially the high-maintenance lower categories, while others do not. It takes a lot of sweat to keep some money in your pocket, a lot of experience typically only gained through pain to know what to look for, and a large pile of reserves that you're sitting on, not making $$$ with.

Reggie Rearden · Answer

@Jim K., they were aware of drain but I did not know that it would require maintenance. This is my first dealing with drains. If I would’ve know there could be an issue, I would’ve had a handyman maintain it. No bad intentions on my part. I just didn’t know.

@John Teachout, I also found out today that the gutters were clogged. I’m finding out a lot about residential properties this week apparently! We have 6 commercial units and they seem way easier to manage. I told the tenant that I will have the drain company come back out and have someone come clean the gutters this weekend.

Mike McCarthy · Answer

I have a drain in the driveway to keep the garage from flooding. I’ve asked the tenants to clean it from leaves and such... but... after one or two tries, I’m happy they are paying rent - so I clean it out monthly or before a big rain.

Some things are worth fighting, others, just aren’t.

Reggie Rearden · Answer

@Bill F., yes! We’ve had WAY above normal rain since January. The tenant told me about the water today but apparently it has been going on for a few weeks. I was going to coat the inside of the wall with foundation sealer as a temporary fix until the rain stops BUT they have way too much junk piled against the wall. We had the French drain installed about 18 months ago. I don’t mind keeping the ends clean but I had no idea one is completely buried. That’s something I dont check when I do walkthroughs, but i will now.

Bill F. · Answer

@Reggie Rearden

I think what you are asking is outside the scope of standard maintenance for a tenant, unless it was specifically communicated and demonstrated to them before they occupied the home.

Also as @Bjorn Ahlblad, mentioned most of the drainage happens along the length of the drain so the end being clogged isn't a likely cause of water in the basement. One culprit is that there wasn't a proper use of filter fabric during construction and sediment has filled in the voids between the aggregate making drainage slower.

Have you had above average rains in your area recently?

John Teachout · Answer

Our tenants are supposed to keep gutters clean too but I've never had them do it. I just go around and do it myself to preserve the property. I'd suggest the same for you.

Who is responsible for keeping a French drain clear

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