Basement Sump Pump & Tenants

[Mitch Howard]

Has anyone rented a property with a below grade bathroom, say in a basement that has a sump pump? 

I have a SFH and am concerned about tenants ruining the pump, or worse somehow backing up the plumbing and causing a flood somewhere. We currently live in the house and although the pump works just fine (we've been using it full time as we remodeled the upstairs bathroom) I know the tenants will either flush wipes, or fem products, or hair down the toilet and cause damage. I've spoke with a few people and there's really no alternative other than a sump pump to push the water up the pipes to our main drain line since the bathroom is below grade in the basement.

How do I deal with this when it comes to tenants? I know i can put a clause in the lease agreement and verbalize a warning about this situation but I'm not at all confident that we won't be faced with this expensive headache one day. These sump pumps are not cheap to replace at all and neither is having a plumber install it. God forbid they create a flood situation of some type...

I don't want to sell the house as it's our first property, we got an extremely good deal on it years ago,  and have a super low interest rate. It's in a desirable part of town and can cashflow well as it's a 4 bed 2 bath lakefront property. 

Is there anything I can do to mitigate risk here? 

[Greg Scott]

No, no, no.  A sump pump is for rain water that collects around the walls and under the floor of the house.  The water drains into the sump and then it is pumped out.  It is illegal to pour sewage into a sump pump.

A grinder pump is what you use for pumping sewage and drain water out of a basement.  Many houses have them.  I have in my own house and that bathroom has been used regularly for over 8 years without any issue.