Charging Residents for At-Fault Repairs

We spend a lot of maintenance time picking stuff out of disposals, pulling toilets when kids throw toys down them, etc.

It's as if they don't think anything of it because they know we'll fix it for free.

I have heard of properties who charge tenants for repairs when they cause the problem. I have had discussions with other managers about it.

My concern with charging them is that they won't report a problem. I feel it would be a huge problem with resident retention if the plan were implemented in the middle of their lease.

We charge for lock-outs, so why not charge for broken blinds, broken disposals or other repairs caused by the tenants negligence.

What do you think?

Sandy,

This is a very good question. I've worked with both ways, and to charge residents,one has to set rules based on their particular property.

What works best is:
1. Communicating up front, but not right at move in, that the first "offense" is free. Tell residents you don't want them to not report a problem the 2nd or later times because of being charged for it, and that they'll be charged "minimally." You can tell them this the first time, when they have their "freebie."

2. Set a price range as best you can. If your own maintenance team makes the fix, you can say that's X number of dollars. If it's an outside vendor, try splitting the cost 50/50 with the resident up to a maximum of X dollars for the resident. Some will resist and some will pay. For those who resist, you need to have a set "payment arrangement" plan available. For some people, producing an extra amount even like $50 is not easy.

The hardest part of this to manage is the kitchen sink. People will actually let it go and it can build up to a bigger problem. People don't let toilet situations go unreported, you'll find!

As for blinds, it's even tougher. I once worked at a property where each window had plastic mini-blinds that cost $11. People did actually break them. I once did when I was raising the blinds on a leasing tour! So I didn't charge residents if those broke.

We charge for at fault items. Our community does quarterly inspections, so we catch any hidden problems. If it is a health or safety issue and they do not tell us it could lead to an eviction (depending on what it is). The same goes for light bulbs, the only we supply are the florescents in the kitchen. If we go through and the bulbs are burned out or missing (especially missing) we tell them to replace and give them a deadline, and if they don't we replace them and charge them for it. At move in they sign an addendum that has the estimated charges to them so they know up front what we expect.