Lease addendum on flushing tampons/wet wipes down the toilet?

[Kathleen Sedita]

Is this a thing? Can it be a thing? We have several older single family homes (built 1900-1930). In the past we had a group of college girls living in one of these houses & they destroyed the plumbing flushing tampons. The plumber couldn’t warranty his work when we paid a plumber to come fix it because flushing tampons is “abuse of the plumbing line.” Had a similar thing happen with people flushing wet wipes during the covid toilet paper shortage.

This got me thinking that maybe having a Lease Addendum that covers these things might be helpful to keep tenants 1)informed of best practices and 2)liable should they violate them.

What does everything think? Would an addendum like this even be enforceable? Should I just include these items in the list of tenant policies I provide

[Kyle J.]

@Kathleen Sedita Sure, you could put something like that in the lease. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to list every single thing they’re not supposed to flush. 

Instead, you could just have a simple clause in the lease like mine: “Tenant shall be charged for repair of drain blockages or stoppages, unless caused by defective plumbing parts or tree roots invading sewer lines.”

Then it’s pretty clear what you will and won’t pay for, and you don’t have to worry about trying to figure out what they shoved down the toilet that actually caused the clog (e.g. tampons, child’s toy, etc) because they’re responsible regardless.