Hello fellow landlords,

Just wondering how I should handle a situation here. I replaced a dryer due to it having issues working with a used dryer less than a year ago. It's been working fine. My tenant still has not put her rent in, so when I texted her asking when I should expect it, she replied Friday (yes I am charging a late fee) because she just got a job and that's when she was getting paid. She then went on to tell me the dryer stopped working. Nothing led up to it, it just stopped turning on. She then let me know the deadbolt on the door stopped working. Turns, but the bolt doesn't open, and she had to get a neighbor to help her in. And last but not least, the oven stopped working. Broiler works, the other part doesn't. I want to be a good landlord, but I also don't want to be taken advantage of. It doesn't state anywhere in the least saying I even have to provide a dryer. They are nice tenants, but certainly not the brightest. They are not the best at paying their rent on time.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

D

Were all these things functional when she moved in?

It helps to document everything (including things like oven handles--I've had someone break those) carefully before move in, with photos.

The problem with appliances is it's not always obvious whether the tenant caused it to not work or whether the product was defective or just at the end of it's lifespan.

Some of my tenants are brain dead! They will first put water in the washing machine and let it fill up before putting in cloths, causing a flood.

Or they will have super wet cloths, like towels, and instead of running an extra spin and drain cycle, they will put wet towels in the dryer, over loading and over working it causing an internal fuse, belt or pulley to break.

Appliances do not last the way they used to.

I got my first dryer in 1990, used. It worked a few years, but wasn’t awesome, so we bought a new one in 1993 when we could afford it. That one quit working when the belt broke about 5 years ago. Other plastics were breaking/had broken by then. I had a newer one that I had gotten used from a known source and installed it until I had time to deal with it. The used one stopped getting warm about a year ago. We called someone we know that is handy, he came and got them both and paid us $100 for them. I bought a new one. No more rust stains being left in my clothes from the years of abuse of the dryer from my kids. :) I can’t tell you how many times I cleaned ink from inside the dryer over the years!

Meanwhile, I seem to wear out stoves, or at least some part of them, quickly. I’ve replaced the oven burners, and even the stove burners. I’m on my 3rd stove in my own home since 1995. The one that was in the home I bought in 1994, a plain Jane model with 3 small and one large burner is still going strong in a rental. One died due to lightning surging through my electrical system (took out a TV, the hot tub computer and motor, and much more). That one I don’t mind so much. The replacement for it died. Two of the burners failed, I replaced the receptical for those two burners more than once. I also replaced the oven burner. When it died a second time and took the thermostat in the oven with it, I ordered a new one. I was tired of repairing it, and the repair parts lasting a year at most.

I got a refrigerator in 1994 when we moved into our first home. Big side by side. It died in 2007. We got a new one. That one failed earlier this year.

"Denise,you say they are not too bright,I'd say they're a little brighter than you....................in my lease,I have, the appliances are here for your convenience,if they fail to function,it is your obligation to repair them.........................charlie.............................................. --32.214.xxx.xx"

I don't see this working in the real world...sometimes appliances turn out to be duds these days, even newish ones, as Barb mentioned. Are you really going to ask a tenant to repair (or buy new) refrigerator if it dies a week after move in, through no fault of theirs? If I was a tenant I'd be p*ssed if a landlord expected me to do that.

The dryer probably needs a belt. You did say it is a used model. The problem with buying used is having more repair issues sooner than when you buy a new one (mostly).

Sounds like the bottom oven element needs replacing.

If you supply a W/D and they break down, you repair/replace them, UNLESS you state otherwise on your lease agreement.

I provide and warrant only what city code requires:

- water heater

- furnace/heating

- GD

fred (CA) - help me out please - what is GD?

Stuff breaks and there are some tenants ( a lot of tenants) who don't report when something breaks.

I suspect because so many landlords get ticked off when tenant ask for repairs, so tenants get trained to not complain.

It's not rare for me to find a lot of broken stuff when a tenant moves out, that the tenant has just been living with and never reported.

I encourage my tenants to report needed repairs and I thank them instead of rolling my eyes and snarling.

But yes, appliances stop working and I've had a deadbolt go bad, not often, but it does happen.

I'd go over and squirting some powdered graphite into that deadbolt. That's probably all it needs.

If that doesn't work, pull out the guts and reset them. Sometime a screw comes loose to alow the insides to roll instead of catching the bolt and moving it.

You should check your lease to see whom is responsible for appliance repair.

And I dont mean to be rude, but assuming you signed the lease, you should already know who is responsible for appliance repair. Be aware of your lease terms or you will be taken advantage of.

The dryer you installed was used and then it ran for another year. Having it breakdown shouldnt be a surprise. Dryers are usually easy to fix. If its not turning, its probably the drive belt. If its not heating its probably a broken wire to the heating element or a defective heat sensor.

The stove may simply be a blown fuse.

Even a tenant would have difficulty breaking a deadbolt. I suspect it wore out or was defective. This should be fixed immediately due to security issues.

RichE [IL],

I agree with AllyM on this one.

Pretty simple.

No need to check your lease. It would have to actually state the tenant is responsible. To make a difference.

Stuff breaks we deal with it. Also the items you mention are ones that most of the time would NOT be caused in anyway by the tenant.

I think they just waited to report the items. I can get that. A few broken items at one time. Then think I may have a problem with the tenant.

I nursed my 20 year old Maytag washer until they said it was no longer worth fixing. I prefer top loaders. The repairman said, "Lowe's had a top loader for $400." I don't do things like this, but I bought it. It leaked oil out of the bottom, staining the floor. (What oil?) And when we moved it to our new condo, the connection to the hose broke.