NSW Dishwasher in an investment property

I think its value add to include a dishwasher in an investment property.

But I have had a few issues with it where the dishwasher won't drain and when a technician is called out, it turns out there is nothing wrong with the dishwasher but food scraps are blocking the pipes. Then I end up getting a bill from the technician because its not covered under warranty since it's not a dishwasher issue.

It's an expensive exercise for me if the tenants are not clearing food scraps off their dishes properly before putting in the machine. Any way to mitigate blockages (besides not installing the dishwasher in the first place ).

 

Blockages caused by incorrect use or failure to maintain pass the bill onto the tenant, same as a blocked toilet call out due to foreign objects being flushed

 

Strong disagree. I think its a liability.

 

A property without one would be considerably less attractive to me as a prospective tenant.

 

To me being a housewife, mother, grandmother, PM, OSM and a Social Butterfly, a DishWasher is a must-have.
All of our properties have dishwasher and none of them have much issues, touch wood.
Those with issues have been promptly repaired or replaced as appropriate.
We get much much more complaints with plumbing and ovens.
Makes me want to remove all the bathtubs, which are hardly used most time.

 

I've had one for 6 years in an investment property and not one problem, even surprised me. Just don't buy the cheapest machine.

 

I've got a pair of LG dishdrawers. They've sat idol for about 15 years.

The sink uses about 15-20 litres of water and does a great job.

 

Can I do that? Won't they refuse to pay because it's an appliance with the property?

 

Of course you can do that. If the tenants CBB rinsing off food scraps off their dishes/bowls etc and they just shove them in the dishwasher, the dishwasher drain hose will block up and it's definitely misuse.

If they do pre-rinse then they better make sure they use the kitchen sink strainers to catch the food scraps and put them in the bin, otherwise they will block up the kitchen sink pipework and whalla... they'll be up for the cost of clearing those pipes.

 

When we call someone out for any issue (dishwasher, oven, hot water, drains, aircon, etc) our tenants are always warned by the pm first, that if it is a problem caused by them, or if there is nothing actually wrong, that the cost for the call out will be passed onto them.
I have no issues paying for things that need it because of general maintenance or wear and tear. But if the tenant is blocking the pipes in the toilets by flushing tampons, or blocking pipes in the dishwasher by not rinsing plates first, then that is an issue caused directly by them and they are given the bill.

Of course you need to be reasonable and give the benefit of the doubt in some situations. Ie if they are reasonably new to this property the issue could have been caused by prior tenants. In which case I may pay, but they will be warmed that I am giving them the benefit of the doubt, and that if it occurs again from that point, then they will be footing the bill.

It's amazing how much more care people will take with things if they think they might end up paying the bill to get them fixed if they don't.

But all of this is always made clear to tenants by property managers at the time of signing the lease. So we rarely have issues, and when things have happened, none of them have argued when its obviously something that has been caused by them. We are also quick to stay on top of any maintenance and repairs and deal with issues as quickly as possible, so our tenants never really have cause to complain and are happy.

 

Scraps on plates! Your portion control is haywire.

 

Loss of electricity is another one to add to that list.

 

Can't like this enough- 100% agree.

 

Or the pilot light goes out and needs restarting.

 

Yep this is another one... although in a very small minority of cases, the pilot light can't be re-lit because the components (spark and gas) don't line up for some reason (I've only had one such case of this).

 

That would be like saying they are not responsible for smashing a window because its part of the property.

I like to keep all things maintained in my properties to a high standard and I realize not everyone is the same but being lazy or not looking after things that then cause damage, blockage etc is not on,

I had a new tenant early in her lease block up the toilet with some wet wipes, was start of tenancy and gave her some benefit plus my plumber took a look on the way home and was easy fixed, but she was warned that should this occur again from misuse it will be 100% passed on

 

when we were still renting we wouldn’t even inspect a property without a dishwasher. It was one of our non negotiables.

So I would say not having one is likely to reduce your pool of potential new tenants during a vacancy and could increase the time your property is vacant.

YMMV

 

And if they refuse to pay, what happens then? The PMs don't have any power to make them.

I guess it makes sense to have the tenants foot the bill if the issue is caused by them. Is this common practice and supported by the agents? I'm surprised that my PM never suggested anything like this to me and looks to me to pay the bill. Not just one agent, but agents I have had in the past as well.

 

How are the tenants able to cause these? I've never had that happened before.

 

Never had a refusal to pay. But then again, I have only had a handful of times where the tenants have had to pay for the call out. Because expectations are clear from the outset and reconfirmed prior to a callout occurring, tenants know beforehand of the possibility. And most people generally know when they are probably at fault for something in the first instance anyway. I am happy to let them do payment plans for these expenses if needed too.

But if they were responsible and refused to pay, I would be expecting my PM's to take the appropriate steps towards remedying the situation. Be that tribunnal or even eviction. I don't know why you are assuming that there is no recourse, its part of the terms of the lease in most states.

A good agent is worth their weight in gold. A bad agent is a liability. You need to have these discussions with you PM before you even hire them. Find out what rights and responsibilities you have as a landlord (and try to keep up to date with them as the legislation changes), and then discuss expectations of both tenants and landlords with the PM.

A good place to start educating yourself is actuall with the information each state puts together to assist and inform tenants of their rights and responsibilities. Check out the various tenants unions and advice services websites for information. And then check you PM is passing the same info along to tenants when they sign a lease. Then everyone is on the same page and no one can claim ignorance later on.

When it come to basic maintenance requests though, 9 times out of 10 I will just do it. Keeping the properties maintained is a lot cheaper then s full blown reno down the track because I let things slide. I think too many landlords are too tight when it comes to maintaining their properties. Not talking about adding value, just basic house maintenance.