QLD garage door cost to owner?

Are garage door replacement a tenant problem or a maintenance cost to owner?

Case: The garage door was reported broken few days before tenant moved out. The garage repair company that attended to it said the same tenant had damaged it many times before, and it now needs replacing. The PM doesn't have record of this and said this is maintenance cost to owner.

Just wondering what folks think and how to avoid this in the future? Claiming it from my insurance will affect my premiums and I'm not even sure I can claim it. This is for a recent purchase and unfortunately inspections never revealed this issue.

 

What type of damage ? Wear and tear isnt insured. To be honest a garage door shouldnt need multiple repairs. Esp if its "recent".

 

If the attending repair technician says "damaged many times before" you need a detailed report of said damage and possible cause before you can go the tenant (car/tow ball reversed into door) or claim from the bond if they have vacated.

Oh and get a new PM, because if they didn't check or notice it on the entry/exit report you now have another expense......

 

I don't know the exact damage, but it won't open. From the way the repair guy described, previous repairs they serviced were minor bumps caused by tenants, and not just wear and tear.

Do garage doors need regular maintenance?

Thanks, I've asked the guy and waiting for a reply. The PM on the other hand, just dismissed it as maintenance. I don't have a copy of the entry report, but the exit report didn't mention anything.

 

Depends on the type and brand really, but in general very little if any maintenance is needed (until something wears out, which can often take many years).

Example, in the last 10 years our roller lift panel door (possibly 20yo) I've only had to replace the lift motor (due to a broken shaft) all the rollers are chain are original

 

Then I would be doing my own inspection if possible, but I'd expect better of a PM, so consider getting a new one (start a thread for recommendations to the rough area).

 

The only regular maintenance that garage doors need is a bit of RP7 lubrication of all the hinges, wheels, chains etc... at least once every six months..

 

My new garage door required servicing after a specified number of uses (took just over a year to reach that number). The opener actually earned the users that a service was needed.

 

Not completely correct. My garage door opener has inbuilt service intervals - it warns the user when one is needed.

 

They actually claim garage doors need to be serviced annually, but I don't think anyone on this planet gets them serviced annually...
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OP, you need to get more information from the technician. Is the door failing to operate because of physical damage to it done by the tenant? How does the garage door tech know this particular tenant has damaged the door repeatedly before?
You need to be able to draw a clear link between this tenants' actions and the resultant failure to operate. If they drove into it, but it's not working now because the motor broke, they become two different issues. You should pay for the motor repair, and they pay for the damaged panels.

Also, it's a separate concern if there was an undamaged door at entry, damaged at exit, and the Property Manager did not identify that on the exit condition report.