My tenants want me to spray for bugs.

Situation

The tenant has roaches and wants me to spray for bugs.  I think they are terrible housekeepers and they probably brought in the bugs.

Response

There are requirements that the Landlord must meet in order to comply with the "warranty of habitability"  You can go to this website,

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/problems.shtml

to read what the Department of Comsumer Affiars says about this warranty of habitability.

The portion of the warranty that covers bugs is this:

"A dwelling also may be considered uninhabitable (unlivable) if it substantially lacks any of the following:  Clean and sanitary buildings, grounds, and appurtenances (for example, a garden or a detached garage), free from debris, filth, rubbish, garbage, rodents, and vermin."

This warranty also states: 

Tenants must do all of the following

• Keep the premises "as clean and sanitary as the condition of the premises permits."
• Dispose of trash and garbage in a clean and sanitary manner.

If you have provided a unit that is clean upon movein and with no bugs apparent you have probablaydone your duty.  If, 6 months later, there are roaches, you may feel that this is a housekeeping responsibility of the tenant and therefore, the responsibility of the tenant to get rid of the bugs.

Keep in mind that roaches can come from many sources including old shopping bags, old boxes, old clothes and from bugs that cling to clothes.  All of these items would have been brought in by a tenant and therefore not a Landlord responsibility.

It is also true that bugs have to have something to eat.  If open food containers and food scraps are left on counters and in cupboards, this is encouraging bugs to stay and grow.  Again, this is under the control of the tenant and therefore a tenant responsibility.

With this in mind, I would suggest that you work with the tenant at least once, to attack this problem from multiple directions.  Require the tenant to make sure the house is clean.  Have them clear out their cupboards and drawers and countertops.  Supply the tenants with "roach bombs".  Require the tenant to follow up the bombs with spraying once a week for a couple of weeks.

If they do all of these things and it doesn't work I suggest that you pay for a professional pest control visit with a promise from the tenant to cooperate and keep the unit extra clean from now on.  See if that works.

A friend of a friend works as a handyman and wants to work on my rental. Is it a good deal?

Situation

A friend of a friend works as a handyman and wants to work on my rental.  Is it a good deal?

Response

If all goes well and this friend does a great job for a cheap price, you win.

What happens if things don't go so well?  What if things work out badly?  What if they go horribly wrong?

How big of a risk are you willing to take? 

Some terrible things that could happen are:

1.  The repair is done poorly and needs to be redone.
2.  The "repair" is defective and causes damage to your property.  For instance, the leaking pipe stays repaired for 2 days.  The tenant leaves for the weekend.  The pipe leaks again and $10,000 in damage is done to the house and $2,000 to the tenants furniture.
3.  The workman is rude to your tenant and threatens them.  You lose a tenant.
4.  The workman hires someone as a helper and the helper gets injured and sues you for damages.
5.  You pay for parts up front and the guy takes off with your money
6.  The workman steals from your tenant and the tenant sues you for damages
7.  The workman damages something while making the repair and then charges you to fix that too.
8.  The workman is injured on the job and is disabled for life.  He sues you for damages.
9.  The workman claims that you paid him "under the table" when you should have paid him and witheld taxes.  Now the Federal Government is after you for not complying with tax law.

This is not an exhaustive list but represents some of the things that could happen. Are you prepared to deal with these?  Are you covered by insurance if they do happen? 

I have seen all of these things happen to people who use "cheap labor".  How high is your risk tolerance?

How quickly do I have to act on an "emergency" plumbing issue?

Situation

It's Sunday at 10:00pm.  The tenant calls up with a plumbing leak in the kitchen.  Do I have to call a plumber and get it done right now?

Response

Why is it that these kind of calls always seem to come at the worst times?

The answer is "It depends".

It's important to contact the tenant for more information.  How much water is leaking?  Where is it coming from?  Is it the water feed line or is it the sink drain?  The more you know about the problem the better the decision you can make.

You want to protect your investment, maintain a good relationship with the tenant and protect the tenants belongings. 

You might be able to talk the tenant through the process of turning off the water under the sink.  You might be able to advise them to not use the sink for the evening.  Adjust to the situation and see if you can temporarily fix the situation for the night.

If you can, make sure you follow up with a permanent repair in the morning.

Do I have to put screens on all of the windows?

Situation

My tenant has requested that I install screens on all of the windows of my house.  Do I have to do this?

Response

It is required that you have at least 1 window with a screen on it in each room of the house.  I believe this is to allow a tenant to open a window in each room and not risk bugs or a child falling from the unscreened window.

If you have screens on the windows but they are torn or badly worn so they do not protect against bugs or children, I suggest repairing them or replacing them.  It's not that expensive.