So first. I have to say MM saved my ass with not hiring an electrician.
TWICE in the past week I've had tenants call about not having electricity in certain parts of their apartment.
Thank freaking god for the "bad tenant" post with the various posts about GFCI outlets! I remembered that and asked them to press the reset button. Voila! And the Lord said let there be light!
My next dilemma is that a tenant broke a window "trying" to close it. I have to charge the owner right? I suspect they were doing something stupid, but can't prove it.
I don't know...at our last place we rented, I literally went to open it and it broke (the mechanism that holds it up snapped). So, totally not our fault whatsoever. Our landlord was awesome and replaced it for us, but we were good tenants and took good care of the place.
Hmm. I'd say no. A window on my rental broke, as in the sash was no longer working and it wouldn't stay open. My landlord did a horrible job replacing it (different size, since it wasn't a standard sized window), but I wasn't charged. I would hope not to be charged if, say, one of my appliances broke or something, either. Also, there was a cracked window pane we asked the landlord to fix prior to us moving in. If the tenant was trying to close it, it was possible a sticky, older window and the glass cracked because it fell too fast, or the window fell out for the same reason.
Now, the time I intentionally broke into my apartment and damaged the lock and door frame because I was locked out? Yes, I expected to pay for that.
ETA: I lived in the apartment where the window broke for 4.5 years. Never had a rent increase. The landlord loved us. I never called to have a light bulb replaced. We kept up the property, including trimming the shrubs. But I would call when something required service.
Post by littlemisssunshine on Aug 26, 2015 20:50:04 GMT -5
Unfortunately unless the tenant comes clean, it'll be on the owner to pay for it. I had a tenant who I suspected tried to drill a hole through the frame of a sliding glass door to install a metal peg for extra security. She shattered the glass. She said someone tried to break in and broke it. The drill marks tell a different story. But ultimately the owner paid for it.
Post by imojoebunny on Aug 27, 2015 20:18:35 GMT -5
How is the lease written? I think ours has some specifics about things like that. As a landlord, I would replace without comment because I want tenants to tell me about stupid stuff that effects the quality of our property. Broken windows are not good for my property.
The balances in the windows in the building I manage break all the time. It's pretty common for them to finally give out while someone is opening or closing them. We have a glass company come in and replace just the balances. Takes about 5 minutes with the correct parts.