Impatient Tenant
I have a tenant whos refrigerator died thursday night. He left me a message thursday evening, say 7pm, and i didnt receive the message until 11pm. Friday morning, he leaves me a message saying that he can’t wait to hear from me regarding the matter, and that he is going to go to HomeDepot later…
I have a tenant whos refrigerator died thursday night. He left me a message thursday evening, say 7pm, and i didnt receive the message until 11pm. Friday morning, he leaves me a message saying that he can’t wait to hear from me regarding the matter, and that he is going to go to HomeDepot later that afternoon and pick up a fridge himself, and that he will deduct the cost from this months rent. I get the message sometime around 2pm and try to call him before he tries to make the purchase. He winds up buying a refrigerator that costs $600! Which is a considerable figure considering I had one picked out for less than $400, and what he was replacing was a basic, bare minimum unit. Tonight, I get his rent check minus $700, which includes the cost of the fridge, tax, and delivery.
In a situation like this, am i responsible for the entire cost of his appliance considering the difference of what I would have purchased? Is it unreasonable to only reimburse him $400 and try to collect? Any advice is much appreciated
The tenant was out of line.
There is nothing wrong with a $400 fridge. Many rental units require these because there is little space. If the fridge is basic & simple – no icemaker, no water dispenser, etc. there is less that can break. Good for the LL.
Also, normal people assess the situation and decide if they want to repair or replace. A non working fridge is not automatically a replace issue.
I cannot believe people don’t understand a LL (or even appliance repair place) should have 24 hours to call back.
Wait until the tenant becomes a homeowner.
I haven’t read all the comments, so maybe the original landlord already responded.
From what I can tell by the orginal account, the landlord NEVER returned any phone calls? Wow, no wonder us landlords get a bad name? I would have returned the phone call that nigh, but at very least the very next morning! Forget the business relationship, it’s just common courtesy. What a jerk.
But the tenant is in the wrong. There must be more to the story. Sounds like the landlord has a history of not following up on essential tasks. I bet you give no heat as well.
I agree entirely, 10:02PM.
I’m a landlord too and it sounds like you’re a good one.
Tenant’s are always trying to take advantage of me since I’m a nice guy.
Some of them chronically pay rent late because I don’t charge late fees and treat me like a personal no interest bank.
Do you do building management as well? I’m tired of doing it myself and am considering outsourcing.
7:44 – it’s a business relationship. there are rules laid out by the law, and while it may be oppressive to hold the tenant to the letter of the law, there is also the spirit of the law – this tenant honored neither.
yes, it’s a 24/7 job, but unless it’s something threatening the safety or well-being of the tenant, there is some latitude and the landlord is expected to have a reasonable amount of time to remedy the problem.
any damages incurred by the tenant due to a landlord’s neglegence can be pursued by the tenant if they desire, however in this case, because the ammount is so small, going through legal channels would be stupid and a waste of time, not to mention public resources. a reasonable settlement might be if the landlord were to pay for the spoiled food or at least split the difference, so unless the tenant were harboring $10,000 of beluga caviar in their fridge.
feel bad for the poor schmuck who left the post a few weeks back with no heat and the landlord out of town, leaving his clueless daughter responsible for the building. that’s serious. a broken fridge for less than 24 hours is not.
you’re right about one thing though: the role of “landlord” does need some improvement. perhaps a PR campaign is in order. from now on, i’m a “rental property relations professional”.
i think i’ll start a post about it to get everyone’s opinion.
府kã†ã†ãƒã¦ã¾ã‚ã‚“ – not only are you mixing your cultural references (you are referring to racial oppression, not class oppression), but nowhere in the post can any racial or class overtone be inferred. your implication of some sort of racial bias not only reveals your prejudice, it also makes apparent your ignorance. not everything is about race, and not everything is about class. this is about a stupid tenant and $300, which can be taken out of their security deposit after they’ve been charged a late fee.
And people wonder why “landlord” has been a dirty word since the Dark Ages.
Snidely Whiplash lives here in Brooklyn! Several of him, apparently.
府kã†ã†ãƒã¦ã¾ã‚ã‚“ “masta makes deals”
Shut your hole or give your fingers a rest. You are fucking clueless!!
Man up and take control of your house dammit. I’m sure he violated the lease because written notice is needed for all grievances. Not 2 voicemails…
I would kick his ass out for giving me less than the rent and I would check my hallway for scratches from his unauthorized move then minus all costs from his deposit. God forbid he threw out my old refrigertor and I received a ticket from the city.
I would also tell him to keep his refrigerator it doesn’t fit with my style I prefer the $400 one. If the tenant thought it was crappy he should have never rented my space. If he cant move with it there’s a charge for me to keep it. Screw him and all the tenants on this thread.
You did nothing wrong unless you have a history of dragging your ass on tenant related issues.
11:33 here.
11:51 – he said “I get the message sometime around 2pm and try to call him before he tries to make the purchase.” so unless he waited several days, his attempt to contact the tenant was still pretty timely. i admit my error, however if the landlord responded within 24 hours of the initial call, it would still be considered timely in court, especially when it’s not a danger to the tenant or an infringement on their basic rights as renters (ie: heat, hot water, structural problems, etc. see the above post about the boiler). the excuse that the tenant stood to lose a few bucks in food is pretty lame. they spent much more than that on a new fridge.
12:11 – read my post again. I said they don’t have rights above the agreement AND the law. there is a legal process for getting landlords to make necessary repairs (send letter certified mail w/ return reciept, wait 30 days, put rent in escrow and pay for repairs with the escrow account). it’s totally overkill for something like a few hundred bucks (hey, i did say the landlord is cheap, but that’s not illegal).
i was a tenant as well until pretty recently and i had quite a similar problem 4 months before moving out of the apartment (fridge broke down). i lost about $120 bucks in food and it was an inconvenience to have to order takeout for the several days it took for my landlord to get a repair guy to come out, but it’s not a reason to freak out and blow $700 at home depot.
it sounds to me like a whiney, overreacting tenant… unless the fridge was somehow crucial to the tenant’s immediate survival – any medications need refrigeration? was the tenant running a catering business out of their apartment and risking losing their livelihood? (definitely against the law).
i still stand by what i said before.
Also 11:33, In New York, tenants DO have rights above and beyond their agreement with their landlord.
The more they feel mistreated, the more closely they’ll examine these rights. You’d be surprised how well-protected they are and how quickly they’ll choose to exercise and/or abuse those rights so watch out and be attentive. A seemingly nice tenant can turn into a raging psychopath when pushed and you don’t want that under your roof.