As a property management company, we work to maximize our clients’ cash flow. Period. We have no problem admitting it.
Sometimes things break in rental houses and that decreases the cash flow our clients receive. They don’t like it, and neither do we. However, it’s part of the game (sorry for my street talk), so it’s a necessary expense. Sometimes.
Typically, if a repair policy is properly explained to tenants at the time of lease signing, there is no problem. The owner is responsible for operational issues; that is, if there is no evidence of negligence on the part of the tenant (if there is, the message “Sorry you broke the toilet because your girlfriend left you for being volatile, but the bill is for you…” is sent) ). Then the tenant takes care of the easy stuff (change light bulbs, air filters, etc.). They are simple things and everyone gets along very well.
If the house is on the newer side and is being maintained, there just aren’t many maintenance calls. Most people want their homes to work properly (“hey, it’s nice to have the dryer to dry clothes in less than 3 hours, so maybe clean the lint screen once in a while”), so they do the little things to keep it that way. .
However, there are some tenants who seem to discover a lot of problems that they want the landlord to fix. And when they are compared to other tenants, their identity becomes painfully obvious. The calls and emails of your problems continue month after month. It gets to the point where everyone involved in property management has the tenant’s contact information memorized (“Oh, 704-xxx-xxxx? Mrs. X must be calling from work today”). Sometimes repair requests are a series of unlucky and legitimate; Often the tenant tries to take advantage of the landlord’s altruism and gets the impression that he doesn’t have to lift a finger because someone else will take care of him.
The repairs really hurt cash flow. But if repairs aren’t made, disgruntled tenants also hurt cash flow by trying to use their seemingly only point of leverage (withholding rent) to do what they want. So what needs to be done?
Before I get to some techniques for avoiding unwarranted repair requests, I first want to reiterate that almost all tenants (at least the ones I’ve worked with) are reasonable with their repair requests. Most have busy lives and cannot be bothered by illegitimate claims. Not a big deal overall. I find that doing the repairs that are requested builds trust and keeps everything running smoothly. Therefore, requested repairs generally must be performed.
For tenants abusing the remediation system, here are the best techniques to stop the flow of illegitimate requests:
- Recalibrate expectations about repairs: Before the next repair is done, a meeting with all lease managers should be scheduled. The purpose of the meeting (or call) is to review the lease and go over exactly what is covered by the landlord and what is not. Also, it’s probably time to schedule a home tour to make sure the maintenance agreement is being followed.
- Alert Repair Vendors to Suspected Fraud: Vendors who visit the home should be vigilant. They can provide information about which claims are legitimate. If a claim is due to breach of maintenance contract or horseplay, the tenant should be billed for the problem, not the landlord!
- Push back: If it was your house, how would you call a repairman and what would you be doing yourself? That question is a good start in determining what repairs may be unnecessary for the landlord to cover.
- Comply with code: The landlord is responsible, by law, for keeping the rental home up to building code. Nothing else. What is required beyond that?
- Relocation: Perhaps it is worth asking tenants if they would feel more comfortable in someone else’s home?
Although this problem is not very common, it can be unusually expensive and will continually siphon off cash flow. If you find yourself handing over monthly rent to maintenance staff month after month, it might be time to try something new!