Repairs – can’t the tenant just fix it? Well, you should not let a tenant make their own repairs. As you know, normal wear and tear in a unit is normal. Leaky faucet, toilets, jammed garbage disposals, plugged bathtub drains are all normal in everyday life. However, sometimes tenant will try to assure us that they can fix the problem themselves. If a tenant tries to fix a leaky faucet and does not know what they are doing, that leaky faucet may end up in a flooded apartment.
Most tenants do not have the experience to handle even making the minor repairs nor are they motivated to do so. Many people are drawn to living in rental housing because someone else is responsible for the property maintenance. Even if tenants are capable, the chance of them doing a makeshift job in order to save a few dollars is pretty high. No matter how simple the task may seem, it is always better for our company to send out our handyman to repair the job. Not only will hiring the handyman help you save time, but he can also keep an eye out for unauthorized pets or sub-tenants.
Our company will never let a tenant attempt to repair their own maintenance items. Not only for quality control reasons, but it can cause problems when the tenant has vacated the unit and all of a sudden they decide they want a financial credit for the work they previously did.
Our company always tries to make the repairs in a timely fashion. We will follow-up with the tenant with the repairs our maintenance man or contractor has made. By making the follow-up phone call, we are exhibiting our desire to be a reliable landlord who wants to provide high quality housing – and high quality housing makes it easier to attract high quality tenants.