How to deal with a picky tenant?

[Jose Sandoval]

I have a very picky and demanding tenant. Averaging two maintenance requests per week. Nothing major, small things that I don’t mind fixing but they are eating away my bottom line and spending way too much time on this particular rental. Any suggestions on how to deal with the tenants or ideas on how to handle these requests?

[James Hamling]

@Jose Sandoval First and most important to know is are the service requests and items legitimate? By what you say as to not caring about making the repairs I am assuming they are legit, which means the issue is not with the tenant but with your property and to that effect your investment business for leasing a "maintenance bomb" waiting to blow. 

It is key to understand a rental property is not just any old home, it is a rental property and just like rental cars it needs to be purpose built or else many issues will happen. 

Good example, interior doors, do you change out the cheap hollow core doors for solid core wood doors with 3" hinge set screws? Is your flooring cheap click lock or vinyl plank glue set? You can either fix everything piece meal as it goes out until you have a patchwork jalopy or set-out on the right foot with a purpose built property that will not only save you so much more on maintenance calls you don't get but also look much better attracting better rents and tenants AND most importantly free up that time you keep burning up. 

You should have every major component on a replacement schedule and know how much time is left on each so if something goes out early you can make the decision on repair or replace as best ROI.

And that is the biggest point that so many fail on, maintenance and components is all about ROI, not about a short term "whats cheapest quickest fix at this second alone".

When built correct any maintenance is generally a scheduled item or tenant damage, of which you can bill for.  

[Lynnette E.]

You do not want to discourage the renter from telling you about the issues because then they won't tell you about something that needs to be repaired that may turn into serious damage later such as a water leak.

I have a maintenance nightmare tenant now.  First they took off the porch light to sell it on Facebook and to put up a cheap piece of junk.  But they dropped one wire into the wall and could not finish the repair.  We had the 'your lease does not allow you to change things' discussion.  Stop was the message.

Then they put too many things on one outlet with an extension cord--extra refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker and portable dishwasher.  Called and said the plug broke.  Electrician turned back on the breaker and explained what a load was and that it was too many things on one plug.  Education for stupid was the message.

Several other calls went on.

Later example I got a crisis call.  The house was not livable because neither tub /shower could be used.  The full tub/shower will not drain but the plug did not work to keep the water in the tub for a bath either.  The upstairs one has a horrid smell when they use it.  Plumber said that the only problem with the downstairs one was the drain cover was packed with hair.  It was completely newly plumbed before this rental--new piped and tub/shower.  So all their hair in the trap.  Stopper worked fine once the hair was removed.  Upstairs claw foot tub was just filthy.  Plumber told them they could clean it themselves and then it won't stink when they use it.  Way too much organic oils/flowers/etc.   Plumber told them that removing their hair from the drain trap and scrubbing the tub is their job.  I followed up that they will, in the future get they bills if they keep reporting issues that are their responsibility.

They were good then for a month or two.  Now they gave me a 4 item list.  They want rent credit for the HVAC filters.  I reminded them that since they want to buy them they send me the receipt and I send then a check.  I never do rent credit as it is a book keeping mess for me.  2 a neighbor wanted a tree trimmed where it was over their fence.  The neighbor could have done it, and it actually was done when I went to look at it the next day, so I did not even discuss that with them.  3.  They said the water stunk--it was not the water but their dirty tub again, smelled like spoiled milk and the kid said 'that is what my mom put in the tub with oatmeal'.  Plumber drained the water heater just as a precaution.  4.  Last issue was the back door did not close right, yep maintenance person said they slammed it enough it was loose and he fixed it.

So anyway, it is slow teaching poorly trained renters.  I NEVER give them a discount which is what their old landlord did.  So they are used to $50 for every complaint.   For me they are really close to getting a bill instead.

But I am sure they will leave when the lease is up.  They are not happy that I do not compensate them for their inconvenience.  They already had a reservation for me to pay for at Pigeon Forge when they had the tub issues.

[Russell W.]

That's a tough one, because like Lynette said you don't want them to not notify you when something major comes up (although given the nature of this particular tenant that may be unlikely). Depending on what the fixes are, and how labor intensive or expensive they are, if I found myself in this situation I would pick and chose the "repairs" as to what I consider part of my obligation under the lease. So for example, if they don't like the switch/outlet covers because they are ivory instead of white, I would kindly explain that I am not going to change them out. On the other hand, if they say that the pressure from the shower head is low then I would likely replace the shower head. The best answer is "it depends". I consider real estate a service industry to our clients (tenants) but you also don't want to let them walk all over you. 

[Maria M.]

I think you should put a clause in your lease that says tenant is responsible for repairs under $50 or $100 (depending on your tolerance for repairs not done). I think the issue here is that they call you for all the small things like light bulbs, faucet dripping etc. as there’s no way that major repairs come up twice a week. Make sure they inform you about water leaks, as those can create big damages!

P.S. Some tenants really see repairs needed when there are none. I had a handyman come multiple times for one of those tenants, and he was puzzled, as everything worked perfectly! That’s when I ignore the complaint. There’s not much else I can do. Even doctors sometimes get repeat patients that complain about nonexistent illnesses…

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

Terrible idea to have Tenant handle ANY actual repairs. It sounds like you need to perform a more thorough rental prep. At move in, everything should be functioning as designed; secure; and clean. Make it clear during your application process, and within the Rental Agreement itself, that repairs are only for functional issues. Cosmetics or upgrades will not be addressed, what you viewed at the showing is what you get.

Define routine maintenance such as changing standard light bulbs, smoke detector batteries, window AC filter cleaning, range hood filter cleaning, basic pest control, that are Tenant responsibility.

Dripping faucets, leaking pipes, electrical repairs should never be a Tenant repair item, however clogged drains/toilets would be their responsibility to reimburse you if caused by them (based on plumbers report). You should also prohibit the use of chemical drain cleaners, and hold tenant responsible for damage caused by doing so.

[Chris Seveney]

Quote from @Jose Sandoval:

I have a very picky and demanding tenant. Averaging two maintenance requests per week. Nothing major, small things that I don’t mind fixing but they are eating away my bottom line and spending way too much time on this particular rental. Any suggestions on how to deal with the tenants or ideas on how to handle these requests?

 Can you provide a list of things specifically?

Our PM handles these but we are both on same page that we tTypically will say we understand your concern but that does not impact the hability or enjoyment of the space and will take care of this during our bi-annual maintenance (or quarterly) checks

[Patrick M.]

We have different definitions of picky. Wanting repairs done is not picky and I agree with others- you want these calls.

I had a picky tenant in a multi-family who contacted me about some non-sense. Then a follow-up that the tenants upstairs had people over for dinner and they could hear them. (Not that they were being excessively loud). I tell all the tenants that they must communicate with one another regarding neighbor issues that will always spring up.

I kindly told her that I did not believe the tenancy was going to work and that I had numerous people interested in the apartment. If she wants to look for another place I would consider this her 60 days notice and let her out of the lease. Not a peep after that- we got along swimmingly.

I don't want headaches or drama and I have places people want to rent. 

[Annette S.]

The following should be in the lease regarding repairs: 

Tenant should not perform any repairs or contract work without prior written consent.
Tenant shall notify that landlord in writing of of any repairs and allow reasonable time to complete the work
Tenant will be responsible for the first $100 of any repair. 
Any unauthorized work will be the Tenant's sole expense, no deductions or offset of rent.