Tenants who make unjustified, excessive maintenance requests can hurt your profitability. Sometimes these requests are vague, unnecessary, or not even your responsibility. It takes time and energy to respond to every request, even if you’re just letting them know the task is their responsibility (like changing light bulbs).
Without a clear system for managing maintenance requests, a few tenants with endless requests can drain your time and cash. This is exactly why many property owners choose to hire a property manager. For example, League City property management company Green Residential offers structured maintenance for their clients with clear protocols that reduce abuse without constant owner involvement. While hiring a property manager is the best defense, here’s how to handle excessive maintenance requests on your own.
Clearly define emergencies
One of the main reasons tenants become impatient about pending maintenance requests is thinking everything is urgent. That mindset is why tenants call or text at 2 am. Tenants don’t always understand what constitutes an emergency and often frame minor inconveniences as urgent just to get a faster response.
According to the law, emergencies that require immediate action are conditions that threaten health or safety, like the loss of heat, water, electricity, hot water, or water intrusion. This doesn’t apply to issues like loose cabinet doors, slow drains, and missing window screens. However, many of these requests are framed as urgent.
You can reduce maintenance abuse by providing your tenants with specific examples of emergencies compared to inconveniences. Then let them know how to report each type of request. For example, non-emergencies need to be reported through the tenant portal after business hours, but true emergencies can be reported 24 hours a day through a direct phone call.
Centralize your maintenance requests
Informal or verbal maintenance requests make it harder to control excessive requests. Random texts and phone calls are hard to keep track of and make it easier for tenants to complain about frivolous issues. Being available by phone and text for maintenance requests also encourages immediate demands.
Having a centralized system that must be followed for a request to be taken seriously creates the accountability that will slow down over-reporting. For example, you might require tenants to submit all maintenance requests through an online portal that requires photos and a detailed written description of the issue. This process will force tenants to articulate the problem in detail before you ever have to get on a call. It also gives you time to assess each request to respond within legally appropriate timelines.
Requiring tenants to report maintenance needs through a documented process creates a paper trail that can protect you if a dispute arises later over claims of neglect. Instead of trying to scroll through endless text messages in court, you’ll have timestamped records that show response times and the steps you took to resolve the issue.
Clearly define what your tenants are responsible for
Tenants will think you’re responsible for anything you don’t specifically assign to them in the lease. Small things that may seem obvious – like changing light bulbs and resetting breakers – aren’t so obvious to every tenant and need to be specifically listed as the tenant’s responsibility. A tenant’s responsibilities can also include filling the brine tank for a water softener system and changing the filters on a set schedule between maintenance visits.
Most state landlord tenant laws allow you to pass some maintenance duties to tenants. For example, routine tasks like cleaning, changing the battery in all smoke detectors, cleaning the gutters, and yard maintenance are all common tenant responsibilities. Tenants should also be explicitly responsible for attempting to unclog drains with a plunger and prohibited from using drain cleaners.
The tasks you can’t pass to tenants include things like maintaining structural components like the roof, walls, and foundation, along with fixing plumbing and electrical systems. If there’s a central heater or air conditioner that’s also your responsibility as a landlord, including changing the filters. Never assume your tenants will know what you expect them to handle. Any and all tasks you assign to your tenant should be clearly and specifically stated in the lease.
Address abuse early and directly
If a tenant is requesting maintenance for tasks that are their responsibility or being pushy about non-urgent repairs, address the problem with your tenant directly. Send a written reminder if needed.
Control the system to control the tenant
Maintenance abuse is usually caused by unclear systems and weak boundaries. Rather than relying on immediate responses to texts and phone calls, create a standardized procedure for handling maintenance requests and clarify tenant responsibilities. A strict system makes maintenance requests manageable.
