Discouraging frivolous tenant requests?

Question

I have a tenant who has been steadily putting in requests for maintenance for issues that don't affect the overall condition of the home. Some examples are a slow drip from a shower, a closet door that lost some trim, a refrigerator where the gasket is peeling off a bit and could be glued back on, blinds where the rotation stick came off (but could still be opened and closed), etc.

I normally fix requests, but it's usually at least $150 to get someone out to fix them. I'd like to encourage the tenant to not file requests unless something is broken but still want to fix issues.

I'm considering writing in an excess repair fee of $50 if there's more than 1 repair request in a month. I don't know if this is even possible, but what have all of you done to cut down on minor repairs or get tenants to batch them together?

Jill F. · Answer

If it is really a very slow drip, I'd wait for a maintenance day. We have a maintenance day every so often when little issues start to pile up. You have to be careful not to let money sinks continue and to remedy safety issues right away. Have tenants send a video documenting the problem and count the drips in one minute-- if I had a drip more than every 10 seconds, I send someone out. Get the tenant to send pictures of the refrigerator gasket issue so that you can make a good judgement call on the problem. Getting as much information as you can before you send someone out is helpful. Are the tenant's generally helpful with sending requested info or do they act annoyed and drag their feet when asked to provide additional trouble-shooting information? Tenants that actually care about the property will usually be helpful; entitled assholes will not want to assist in the data collection process and they expect you to have a magic wand to make all their problems disappear.

Before move-in, I let tenants know our process expectations for maintenance reporting (use the maintenance software) and scheduling-- we enter with 24 hr notice for in-house fixes and tenants are required to schedule directly with 3rd party providers and provide access-- we'll have a service person call to schedule with 48 hours.

I also explain how we categorize maintenance issues:

emergency (fire or large volume of water) call 9-1-1,

urgent these cost someone money, constitute a difficult to avoid safety risk like a loose step to an entrance or missing 1st floor window lock, or cause unreasonable suffering like no hot water or no heat in winter.

normal/minor covered maintenance is done at our convenience usually (1-8weeks),

upgrade requests may or may not be completed at our discretion and may involve a negotiated cost to tenant.

Assuming that you maintain your properties well, getting rid of entitled assholes and managing maintenance expectations is key.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Set some boundaries. Let the Tenant know you aren't going to visit for petty repairs. Ask them to keep a list (or you keep a list) of all the small repairs. Visit the property once every 3-6 months for inspections and minor upkeep.

JD Martin · Answer

First question is this: were all of these conditions in place when the tenant rented the property? If so, and your lease states they are taking the property as-is, then you really have no real responsibility based on that list as none of it affects the ability of the tenant to safely enjoy their occupancy. If those things cropped up afterwards, then some of them would likely be tenant-caused (trim on a closet door; the blind rod) and some of it just things wearing out.

I would not send individual repairs out for any of those requests. I would batch them and have them all done at once. As for discouraging sending requests, I wouldn't do that - the opposite of that is the tenant that tells you nothing until they day they are moving out and then mentions that a water leak caved in part of the ceiling.

Joe Martella · Answer

As the landlord you need to determine the level of importance as the work orders come I.   Not everything is an emergency.

A faucet with a drip can impact the water/sewer bill (depending on what type of leak) and add unnecessary expenses to you or them depending on who pays the bill.  The fridge can cause the cold air to leak out and impact them where their electric bill is increased and additional wear/tear on the appliance, limiting its life.

I would take action on those two issues

As for the other issues like the trim and blinds, those are repairs that are needed but can wait a little bit of time. They aren't urgent.  Then again, how were these items damaged?  Is it wear and tear or did someone rip the trim off? If it was caused by the tenant then you should consider charging them for it.

As for $150 each repair, you have options available to you such as doing the repairs yourself or finding someone that is cheaper.  There are apps like Taskrabbit, thumbtack or Facebook marketplace, where you can find someone who is cheaper to do the job.

Personally, if it is an easy fix, I would go there myself to do the repair, which will allow me to look around, talk to them and see what really is going on inside.

Discouraging frivolous tenant requests?

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