Tenant Compensation?
I am a landlord who recently got a new tenant. When showing him the apartment initially, he asked if we would install a new rainshower shower head in the bathroom, and I agreed to do it, as I like to improve my properties. I informed him of how the renovation would proceed, and he assured…
I am a landlord who recently got a new tenant. When showing him the apartment initially, he asked if we would install a new rainshower shower head in the bathroom, and I agreed to do it, as I like to improve my properties. I informed him of how the renovation would proceed, and he assured me that it was no problem, he could shower at his cousins or the gym and kept assuring me throughout the job that it was no problem. The plumber that I hired took longer than he first said he would (so what else is new??), so the tenant was without water for 1 day, and without a shower for 2 weeks. The cost of the job was essentially 2 1/2 months worth of rent, as I installed a very good waterworks system and it looks fantastic. Now that the job is over, he wants rent reductions for the days without use (even when the water was off, there was a toilet he had access to in the building), and basically, he could use everything except the shower. The job did not have to be done, and this feels so ungrateful to me after doing a major (unnecessary improvement). I have not made a cent off of this tenant since he moved in in July; it has all gone in to the shower renovation. What percentage should he be compensated, if at all, for something that didn’t even need to be done, and is basically an upgrade for him to enjoy?
first thing you need to assess when picking and choosing a tenant, is are they high maintenance. look at their shoes and what kind of cell phone they use. those are two indicators of whether they are high maintenance and you dont want them as tenants. a rain shower head? c’mon. what a princess.
*rob*
I like that this person is in his 20s and can rent a place with a “rain shower” shower head… I did something wrong I think. :-s
Tell him. In fact an upgrade like that should come with a rent increase (and I speak as a tenant here, not a LL). It’s ridiculous- he asked for the upgrade, you did it. Even the most construction naive human being has to know these things take a little time. Write it all out in a letter- how he asked, what you said. At the end tell him the inconvenience was at his request and he should count himself lucky you were nice enough to do it and NOT increase his rent for the upgrade.
This tenant has some nerve!!!! Rent back now b/c he was inconvenienced for something he asked for that clearly didn’t have to be done! Oh pls.. I like townhouser idea of a rent increase for the upgrades… Is this person on a year lease b/c if not.. if this is any indication of what’s to come..cut ur loses.
Do you have an agreement in writing that states what each of you agreed to? i.e. that he’d be w/o certain amenities?
He could ask for a temporary rent reduction (after the fact), and you too could ask for a rent increase for said installation/upgrade. Sometimes you have to mention these type of things back to greedy people so that they can realize that they are being ridiculous.
Just an update on what I posted: I had a whole thermostatic system installed, not just a showerhead, as long as I updated the shower. The tenant knew that the job would take 2 weeks, but never realized that it would affect him as much as it did, especially since he told me that it was okay to shower at his cousins or at friends, and kept insisting he could easily stay at friends as well. He is in his 20s and I am his 2nd landlord, so he has no experience that would lead him to believe that I did something unusually nice for him. He just seems to be trying to get more, more, more out of the deal. Also, maybe I installed a very good system, but I always consider what will help resale value; as long as I am doing a job on an apartment, I try to upgrade it as well.
tsrina, maybe LL’s aren’t responsible for all the “stuff” in the world but they are for a working shower. IMBY said it best. You could’ve, should’ve said no but you agreed to it and it took, by your own account – “longer than expected.” I understand that you tried to do the right thing but that two week delay is on you. The tenant has a right to ask, you can always say no – hopefully, there’s some middle ground.
Two weeks to put in a new showerhead? Heck you could have transported Niagra Falls into your apartment piece by piece for that amount of time!