An Unreasonable Request?
Hello stoners, I have a question for the landlords out there regarding what they’d consider to be an acceptable request for repairs. I’ve been renting in an old brownstone for two years, love love love the space, and have a good relationship with my landlords. Did I mention it’s an old brownstone? Yes, OLD. It…
Hello stoners,
I have a question for the landlords out there regarding what they’d consider to be an acceptable request for repairs. I’ve been renting in an old brownstone for two years, love love love the space, and have a good relationship with my landlords. Did I mention it’s an old brownstone? Yes, OLD. It shows its age in places, too. I don’t mind the quirks, and don’t need perfection, but now our built-ins are falling apart and becoming unusable. They’ve obviously never been reno’d (unless you count 100 layers of paint), so I assume the owners didn’t think they needed fixing when they first bought the place.
After reading a recent post about old floors (someone had complained about catching their socks on old floorboards, and the consensus was that these didn’t need fixing), I’m unsure of whether I should ask the owners to fix these. It would presumably be somewhat costly for them. If this is a reasonable request, it won’t hurt to ask, but I don’t want to be an unreasonable tenant. I pay slightly above market rate so I’m not one of those renters who tries to get something for nothing.
What do you think?
Ditto on hearing about problems as soon as they come up.
The landlord will then have to make a decision about whether it is more cost-effective to fix it or to let it deteriorate to the point of needing to be removed.
It’s not an unreasonable request. But do remember that the landlord has to do a cost/benefit on keeping the built-in. His/her values and aesthetic might be different from yours, and that’s legit.
What Vinca, Pete, Dave and mopar said. I rented my upper duplex for 10 years, and much preferred to hear about problems, preferably sooner rather than later. Not at all unreasonable to want the built-ins to be usable, and I would want them usable if they were in my rental.
(And I agree about the floors too. I wouldn’t have fixed them when socks were getting caught, and I once had tenants make a very similar request to me about floors that had just been beautifully refinished.)
You should let them know. If it’s a drawer slide that’s broken, it is easily repaired (as long as you hire a carpenter/handyman who knows carpentry) and fixing it now will prevent much bigger problems in the future. Definitely tell them.
I had a drawer slide problem in an old apartment, finally got “Handyman of Queens” to fix it (and a few other things). They only do Queens though.
None of the repairs you mention sound expensive, as long as you hire the right person.
What vinca & Pete said.
as a landlord, I would want to know about it. Then I would evaluate what to do if anything. Is quite possible they are completely unaware.
I would let him know about their failing condition.
Are they overpainted to the point where the hinges are binding? The doors don’t properly shut? The drawers fall out and down when you open them? Slides worm or missing? The hundred coats of paint tells me that they most likely are more for show than go. I would worry about the lead only if you are storing plates and cups AND if you had little kids.
When you ask for other repairs does he send a qualified person or his drunken step brother who owes him money?
If you rented in a rent stabilized building this wouldnt be an issue – LL would HAVE to repair it.
since you’re relationship is good, it’s no big deal to ask. but assuming they were in this condition when you rented the place, I wouldn’t bet on them fixing it. if the condition is much worse than when you moved in, you really should let them know.
The wood itself is splitting in places, which is why I think this might be a costly repair… Someone would have to rebuild some parts.