Damage caused by all-star tenant

[Max T.]

Top floor tenant in an up/down duplex clogs kitchen drain. 200 to clear the drain and 700 to repair the ceiling of the unit below.

Tenant has been there 6ish years. Lived through many repairs/upgrades. Roof replacement, new 2 story brick front facade, electrical issues. All were professionally resolved but some were quite inconvenient. Tenant is always polite, cooperative, pays on time and keeps the apartment well.

What’s your move?

[Frankie Smith]

I want to acknowledge that paying $900 out of pocket will impact each LL differently...for some it may take months to recover and for others it's not a big deal. So please take that into consideration when taking advice from the forum. 

For me, I would pay it and move on, especially since it sounds like this person has been a great tenant and it's the first time they have caused a repair that you had to fix. Me personally, the risk of disrupting that by trying to make them pay for it outweighs the gain. Think of how much money this person has saved you in vacancy, painting, cleaning fees, etc. in all of those 6 years and potentially many more to come.....but if it happens again that's a different story.