14-year-old fridge stopped working. Recommendations?

[Paul S.]

Hi everyone.

Tenants reported that the fridge has stopped working (no cooling, no light), and that they did not tamper with it. The fridge still does not turn on when plugged into a different working electric outlet. So the issue is likely the unit, not the power source.

I have no proof that the tenants misused the fridge. The tenants have been here for 2 years. They are hard on appliances (big family), and I already had to replace a few appliances that are 10+ years old. Other than that, the tenants behave well.

A repair person will cost $150 just to show up. Not sure if he can tell that the tenant broke the unit.

Replacing the fridge with a new one will cost about $1000.

If the tenants caused the issue, I want to hold them accountable. But I feel I may not have enough information to conclude that.

Given the age of the fridge, I'm thinking maybe just replace it, and give the tenants some care instructions, like not overloading it and leaving some space between it and the wall.

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Paul

[Chris Seveney]

@Paul S.

Even if it was caused by then you would never be able to prove it and the cost to prove it would be more than what they should contribute since the fridge with depreciation is almost worthless.

This but a new fridge and keep the tenant happy