Landlord Question and Answer Forum

In the section where it says,"The Tenant is responsible for all repairs needed in or about the Leased Premises up to and including . The Landlord will be responsible for repairs that exceed this amount.* " Does that mean that if a tenant turns off the heat and a pipe breaks they have to pay the first $100(if that is the set amount). Now what happens if I call a service man and they can fix it for $250 but we decide that we can fix it ourselves. Does the tenant then pay us $100?

You have to watch what you fix in your apartment , say you fix a pipe and the pipe breaks ruining chlothes and furniture , you are liable , or eletrical , you fix a wire , house burns down ,, try to get your insurance money.

Posted by Donald G, MA on Sunday, February 7, 2010

Good point Donald and thank you for your response. Basically in the maintenance section it allows you to have the tenant responsible for all repairs, landlord responsible or this $100.00 option. I am wanting to go in the middle. By requiring some expense to them I am hoping they will be a bit more concerned about the property and or avoiding future damages. I suppose I could write it specifically into the lease exactly how I want it, just want it to be legal and right? Question is can we do said repairs and charge them. Maybe a better example is when someone moves out can I get a bid from a cleaning service and then clean it myself and charge them the amount bid? I use to run a professional cleaning service for 11 years with many employees and am very capable of doing the work myself.

Posted by Doug K, CO on Sunday, February 7, 2010

It all depends on sometimes how long they stay in your rental , say painting, and thats why there is security deposits that protect you if when they leave you can deduct. Or rugs or broken fixtures

Posted by Donald G, MA on Sunday, February 7, 2010