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Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by Samantha (California)
on August 27, 2015 @20:06
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Our tenant texted us late last night (10:30-11:00pm) and then emailed us saying that her boyfriend noticed the AC was not working for the last two hours. In one email she stated that her boyfriend have a medical condition that requires him to be in certain temperature and that she is also pregnant and will not be able to stand the heat. She then called at 6am and left a voicemail. We emailed her around 7:15am and said sorry for the inconvenience and requested the letter stating the medical condition and that we will find a repairman ASAP. She took matters in her own hand and had a friend's friend came by to make repairs without our approval and now she wants to deduct it from rent without approval. Do we have to pay for the repair when we never agree or approved for her to use her own people?
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Re: Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by Anonymous
on August 27, 2015 @21:42
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Why did you ask for a letter stating the boyfriends medical condition? What does that have to do with fixing the AC? Why didn't you call an AC company first thing in the morning so to have someone there asap?
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Re: Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by Garry (Iowa)
on August 27, 2015 @23:41
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Let her deduct it from the rent, and be done with it. She handled it on her own, and she's HAPPY now. (isn't that what you want?) You would have had to pay SOMEONE to repair it, and there's no way you could have gotten a repair person there faster than she did. It could have been a day or 2 for you to get someone there, and you would have her calling every 6 hours complaining, and maybe even threatening to sue you. True, you haven't been told how much the bill will be yet, but just think if you would have called a repairman, and they came overnight, and charged you DOUBLE TIME for their services. Don't let this situation turn ugly, just over the "principle" of the thing.
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Re: Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by Anonymous
on August 27, 2015 @23:42
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Get the receipt and call the repairman. If it's legit just pay the guy.
If it does not seem legit , get your own hvac contractor out there to look at the repair and fix if needed and verify that work was done correctly. Send them the bill from your contractor if they screwed up.
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Re: Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by P-Bone (NY and OH)
on August 28, 2015 @07:24
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I would probably do a mix of what is being recommended.
First I would request a copy of the invoice and I would inquire with regards to the licensing or qualifications of the person she utilized. If it did truly seem like it was on the up and up, I would probably allow reimbursement.
BUT...with that said, I would also issue an immediate lease violation notice stating that unauthorized repairs are not allowed and specify that in this specific case an exception was made, but it does not indicate that the terms and conditions of the rental agreement/lease have been altered. It would also state that further violations of this kind will result in not reimbursing for the repair as well as a lease violation fee.
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Re: Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by Shaun (FL)
on August 28, 2015 @08:53
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I am with P-Bone on this….
Except…
1. I doubt I would do a lease violation, but I would follow up in writing that unauthorized repairs are not acceptable.
2. I only pay for service/repairs with an invoice…unless the Sub and I have been doing business for many, many years and I trust they will mail me one. Otherwise, no invoice, no check.
3. I NEVER allow tenants to deduct from the rent. I like my bookkeeping and audit trail clean. They pay full rent, submit an invoice and I'll cut them a check.
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Re: Tenant made unauthorized repair & wants to deduct
by Jeff (CO)
on August 29, 2015 @17:19
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I'd have a huge problem with this. Who's running things, you or the tenant?
You have no way of knowing what's really wrong, if there is any fault, or if the repair guy was insured.
What does your lease say?
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