landlord's responsibilities for fixing (apartment, lease, disclosure, tenant)
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We are in NJ and currently rent out our home. Generally, I know it is basically a londlord's responsibility to make repairs. However, if the tenant is there for more than a year and some regular maintenance issue comes up, should it not be his duty to fix it as he has been using the same for over an year? I do not mean major items like heating system or the AC but the usual day to day maintenance. My tenant is sending me all the bills. Does it mean that I will have to pay for regular repairs when he and his family are using them for a long time. What is the rule of thumb about timing in such cases? All advice will be much appreciated.
Generally, I know it is basically a londlord's responsibility to make repairs.
Not generally. Always. 100% always the LL's (property owner) responsibility.
Even if on occassion they can lay off some of those costs on others. Like tenants.
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However, if the tenant is there for more than a year and some regular maintenance issue comes up,
should it not be his duty to fix it as he has been using the same for over an year?
That sounds like the "normal wear and tear" range to me.
Or did you mean actual damage they did or maybe low level tasks described in the lease?
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I do not mean major items like heating system or the AC but the usual day to day maintenance.
Housekeeping? Light bulbs? Furnace filters? Lawn mowing? Like that?
What does the lease say?
What things are you talking about? It's the LL's responsibility to maintain the appliances in working order, unless it states otherwise in the lease. But it's not that the tenant just calls in the pros and sends you the bills. He's supposed to notify you, and you're supposed to arrange the repairs. That way, you maintain control over the costs.
For example, we will have tenants call us complaining of a blocked toilet. I ask them to text me a picture of the plunger they have used to try to unblock it (and we leave a plunger in every apartment), and I don't hear anymore about it. They were just having a reflex "Call the LL", instead of taking care of it themselves. Or they call to say the heat isn't coming on, and we ask them to text us a picture of the meter .... which has a gas company lock on it, cause they didn't pay the bill. Or text me a picture of the oil gauge on the tank.... which shows it's empty.
But we supply the fridge, stove, furnace, so we fix or replace those. But we NEVER just have a tenant calling in workmen and sending us the bills, not EVER.
We are in NJ and currently rent out our home. Generally, I know it is basically a londlord's responsibility to make repairs. However, if the tenant is there for more than a year and some regular maintenance issue comes up, should it not be his duty to fix it as he has been using the same for over an year? I do not mean major items like heating system or the AC but the usual day to day maintenance. My tenant is sending me all the bills. Does it mean that I will have to pay for regular repairs when he and his family are using them for a long time. What is the rule of thumb about timing in such cases? All advice will be much appreciated.
Can you give us some ideas of the regular day to day maintenance you're getting billed for?
IMO, tenants should be responsible for consumables - light bulbs, air filters, those types of things - and any damage that is a result of their neglect or actions - not normal wear and tear.
For instance - when I was a tenant, I dropped something in the garbage disposal which caused it to jam. My fault. So I called in a plumber, arranged to meet them at the condo, and paid for it to be repaired. We never bothered the LL with it.
We had a closet door where the screws in the hinge had loosened and would not open & shut properly. The door was nearly falling off the frame when you opened it. I called our LL because that was from wear and tear instead of damage from neglect or misuse on our part.
At one time, we lived in an apartment that had 10 foot ceilings. We were responsible for replacing light bulbs but being apartment dwellers, we didn't have a ladder. So I would place a service call with maintenance, and leave light bulbs for them to install for me. I provided the light bulbs, they provided the install service.
OP, bottom line, is that because your tenant has been in residence for longer than a year does not completely relieve you of your responsibilities.
You should clarify with your tenants that for any repairs/maintenance that does fall under the LL's responsibility - the tenant should call you first, and you'll arrange for it to be completed. That way you have control over the costs. I will say that when we rented from a private LL, he took care of everything when it fell under his responsibility - he made the calls, he met the repairman at the condo (saving us from having to take time off from work), he paid the bill. It's one of the benefits of being a tenant versus a homeowner. I miss those days sometimes.
We are in NJ and currently rent out our home. Generally, I know it is basically a londlord's responsibility to make repairs. However, if the tenant is there for more than a year and some regular maintenance issue comes up, should it not be his duty to fix it as he has been using the same for over an year? I do not mean major items like heating system or the AC but the usual day to day maintenance. My tenant is sending me all the bills. Does it mean that I will have to pay for regular repairs when he and his family are using them for a long time. What is the rule of thumb about timing in such cases? All advice will be much appreciated.
If it came with the apartment, it's YOUR responsibility. If it's something that belongs to the tenant, it's their responsibility. That goes for everything - appliances, heating systems, plumbing, etc.
We are in NJ and currently rent out our home. Generally, I know it is basically a londlord's responsibility to make repairs. However, if the tenant is there for more than a year and some regular maintenance issue comes up, should it not be his duty to fix it as he has been using the same for over an year? I do not mean major items like heating system or the AC but the usual day to day maintenance. My tenant is sending me all the bills. Does it mean that I will have to pay for regular repairs when he and his family are using them for a long time. What is the rule of thumb about timing in such cases? All advice will be much appreciated.
We are in NJ and currently rent out our home. Generally, I know it is basically a londlord's responsibility to make repairs. However, if the tenant is there for more than a year and some regular maintenance issue comes up, should it not be his duty to fix it as he has been using the same for over an year? I do not mean major items like heating system or the AC but the usual day to day maintenance. My tenant is sending me all the bills. Does it mean that I will have to pay for regular repairs when he and his family are using them for a long time. What is the rule of thumb about timing in such cases? All advice will be much appreciated.
Unless you have some disclosure and agreement for tenant to fix anything under x dollar amount or type of repair described or specified, normally repairs due to wear and tear are always the LLs responsibility.
So to answer your question yes you are responsible for normal repairs. Now IF the tenant requested repair is due to tenant deliberately or maliciously breaking something say punch a hole in the drywall or say burned a hole in the carpet then that would be chargeable to the tenant,
Unless stated otherwise, a LL is generally responsible for repairs. Now as a tenant, I’ll change lightbulbs and things of that nature, but beyond that, not much.
It’s several things. It’s not a tenants property, so they can’t really be messing with structural issues, plumbing, electric, etc. additionally, this is why people rent, at fairly high prices. They don’t want to be responsible for major issues with a property. That’s part of the reasons for renting.
In regards to tenant caused problems- I have 2 issues that recently came up...
1. Tenant did something to trip a circuit breaker. The circuit breakers in this 12-year-old have never tripped before. She wasn't successful in resetting the breaker and so the property manager phoned an electrician to investigate broken electrical. It turns out that the tenant just wasn't knowledgeable in resetting circuit breakers and wants me the Landlord to pay for her electrical circuit breaker resetting lesson.
Shouldn't tenants be expected to be able to reset a circuit breaker when they are the one that caused it to trip.
2. Tenant in adjoining unit has reported an approximately 8-inch long crack in the floor of a 12-year-old fiberglass bathtub shower combo. To me, this is clearly something caused by the tenant - probably dropping something causing the crack. Is this something any landlords have experienced and what how did you handle it?
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