One of the obligations a landlord has for tenants in his rental property is performing repairs and maintenance. The responsibility could be heavy sometimes, especially when the damage requires a lot of money and effort to repair. The landlord may not be the one to conduct the repair himself, but looking for third-party contractors, cost negotiations,s facilitation, and processing the invoice can be very tiresome.
With more tenants being aware of the challenges repair and maintenance can bring to a landlord, plus their desire to save themselves extra cash, there are now circumstances when a tenant would volunteer to perform the repair themselves in exchange for a reduced rent. However, as tempting as it is for a landlord to be free of repair and maintenance obligation, agreeing to the offer is often a bad idea.
Bad Decision
Accepting a tenant’s offer to repair the damage for the price of a reduction in rent can bring up instant problems and long-term issues, which is not worth a short-term convenience. Tenants may not be aware of this and would make the offer with bad intentions, but they may eventually see the benefits on their part and do it regularly.
• Tenants have very minimal repair skills.
Not to generalize, but not everyone can perform repairs. Unless your tenant is a licensed repair professional, you can’t guarantee the quality of repair they will perform. Most of the time, they are mere D.I.Y. repair hobbyists who learned their skill from the stuff they see online. I don’t mean it as an insult, but rather a realistic expectation.
If they injure themselves while repairing damage, they might hold the landlord accountable and make it appear that he refused to perform his repair and maintenance duty.
• No room for correction
If the landlord is unsatisfied with the result of their work, but the tenant is, there’s no other recourse for the landlord but to still deal with fixing the low-quality work done. By letting the tenant do it, the landlord gives up his power to control and approve.
However, since the tenant repaired it on the level that he believes is satisfactory (even excellent), the landlord would have to grant the rent reduction. Refusing to do so could lead to worse conflict.
If a landlord ends up spending time, money, and effort to improve the repair that the tenant performed, he will lose more than what he would’ve lost if he hired a professional in the first place.
• It can alter landlord-tenant dynamics
If a tenant and landlord stick to the simple business arrangement of money in exchange for accommodation, the relationship remains uncomplicated. The expectations are straightforward, and the lines are clear.
Repair for rent reduction arrangements can complicate things because it deviates from what the lease agreement stipulates about the scope of the landlord’s repair and maintenance responsibilities. It also changes the role of the tenant and what level of property upkeep he has.
• Setting precedents
Allowing a tenant to be granted the rent reduction arrangement can set a precedent with other tenants. Since a rent reduction is very appealing to every tenant, the other tenants might demand the landlord to enter the same arrangement with them, even though they don’t have the repairing skills.
It may even encourage some tenants to cause seemingly natural damage due to normal wear and tear, intending to get a rent reduction agreement. If you deny their request, they will complain that you are unfair or discriminatory against them because you granted that same request to the other tenant. Showing special treatment to one tenant can get you in trouble because of the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits tenant discrimination in the housing industry.
Sticking to the lease
One of the best ways a landlord can maintain order in his rental deals is by always falling back on the lease agreement. A landlord needs to be firm with the regulations, limitations, and agreements stated on the lease contract.
A rental agent must also help ensure that the tenants understand the lease agreement before they sign it. After publishing a listing on Padleads, they have to brief applicants that the property has rules and regulations in place. The landlord can indicate on the lease agreement that rent reduction agreements in exchange for repairs is not possible.