Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have a house that was built in 1958 that I am renting. I have new copper water pipes in half of the house. We had just put up new tile walls in the main bathroom and did not want to tear them down at the time to re pipe the whole house. I am in the process of finding new tenants. The water pressure in the house is ok, not the best that I have seen. If water is being used in different areas of the house at the same time the pressure can get low, but does come back. (I will probably have to re pipe the rest of the house at some point.) My concern is how to disclose this to a prosepetive tenant. My prior tenants had no complaints about water pressure. Is this something I should disclose?

You may need to replace the pressure regulator which is located just below the faucet where the main water pipe enters the building. To check it out, buy a water pressure gauge at a hardware store. It screws on to the hose faucet. The pressure, depending on the city, should be between 40 – 70 psi. If it’s bad, it may read as high as 90 psi. When you turn on the sink faucet, for example, the pressure should drop about 10 psi and recover in a short time to the initial pressure reading. The cost will be between $200- $500 for a plumber to install one, I believe. -----Disclaimer: Since I’ve been answering a lot of questions, I thought I would make the following statement. I’m not affiliated with EZlandlord Forms. I’m just here (not sure how long) to help those that have questions. Having 40+ yrs with Rental Property and done well, it’s my way of “Pay it Forward (check out the movie).” However, it is up to you to become familiar with your State/Local laws. I always like to know if the suggestions I offer are helpful. Feel free to comment anytime. Thanks in Advance. BTW...check out the Rental Property Organizer at Simp-List.com. Free Trial Download with data.

Posted by Bob R, CA on Thursday, December 13, 2012

Thank you for the information. i appreciate the education, I have much to learn about plumbing. We cleaned the faucet filters/screens on all fixtures, the pressure seems normal now.

Posted by Carol F, CA on Saturday, December 15, 2012