Legitimate Maintenance Items

Hi All

I'm 19 days into my first investment property with a property manager in WA.

Yesterday I recieved an email from my PM with the following maintenance items:

1. The laundry shelf is a bit wobbly – I haven’t put anything on it in fear it may break.
2. The toilet brush holder in the main bathroom has fallen off the wall, the ensuite bathroom toilet brush holder looks like it's separating from the wall.
3. There is only one strainer plug in the kitchen.
4. In the ensuite bathroom the white grout appears to be lifting (it's not the grout but a protective silicone sealant).
5. Soap dish in ensuite bathroom has a crack in and since fallen off.

1) Are these all legitimate maintenance requests in WA?

2) Should these have been listed in the property condition report?

3) and as the landlord should I have received a copy of the PCR?

Any assitance would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks in advance

 

1) Probably. Depends what you mean by "legitimate"?

2) Possibly. Although some of them sound like they would only be noticeable on either use or very close inspection.

3) Possibly. That's between you and your PM.

What assistance were you looking for? Isn't it for your PM to guide you on these things?

 

Wise of the tenant to let the PM know - otherwise they would likely be blamed for the things down the track.

 

Was anything picked up on the ingoing inspection report or with the building inspection you had done prior to purchase? These could have been picked up at the time.

 

The PM just asked if I wanted her to arrange a maintenance person to fix the issues.

Didn't provide any advice, I asked if these were listed on the PCR and haven't received a response.

 

Just curious, would the answer to this change your response?

 

1) They're pretty "nit picky", but some people would be glad to have such a detailed eye looking over the property.

2) Mostly they're small enough to have been missed. There's always details the tenants notice in the first couple of weeks of living there that wont have been picked up in the entry. I make a point of asking them to email those things through when they find them.

3) I've personally never sent a client a copy of the entry report and it's not standard practice to do so, but I've heard some clients like to have a copy.

 

Having had a look at the department of commerce website (WA), it states and it will be based on the relevant legislation that after receiving the PCR the tenant has 7 days to add any defects and/or maintenance issues. Being 19 days in now I don't think believe they would have complied with this section of the act.

I'm not trying to be a jerk but I haven't received any income from this property yet and I'm already being asked to fork out for additional costs.

 

Thanks Tom, yes I think nit picky is the perfect term, as a tenant I remember going days without hot water, sinks and taps that would leak, blinds that wouldn't close, ect. I would report the hot water, but all the other stuff I just got on with..

 

Jack the rent up at first opportunity and then keep raising it till tenant leaves or learns.

These tenants will probably whinge about the house bring haunted and want some kind of exorcism performed.

I'd like to knock on their door at midnight with a torch under my chin......"your whinging is waking up the dead" lol

 

Benefit of the doubt - they might just want to point these out to you so that you don't try to hold back bond from them later down the track...? Maybe check with the PM of the tenant's expectation?

 

Those PCR provisions (and whether the tenant has complied with them) make no difference to your obligations to maintain the property though.

 

That's where I was trying to guide him too

 

Most of them are small things. Just fix them.
It's good that they told you about this:

4. In the ensuite bathroom the white grout appears to be lifting (it's not the grout but a protective silicone sealant).

If a protective sealant has failed, there is no protection. If I was a landlord, I would want to know about that as soon as it was discovered. (Putting aside why the grout needed the addition of a protective silicon sealant in the first place.)

 

shouldn't need silicon on top of the grout if the bathroom floor is coated with waterproof

something isn't right here get it checked out, you don't want water leak through to your bathroom floor, could lead to other issues with water build up

 

I did the protective sealant myself to make the floor look more aesthetically appealing, it looked really good as well. I'm happy to have somebody come rip it up, but it will look less aesthetically appealing IMO as a consequence.

Aesthetics are critical

 

You supply toilet brushes ? They would have been the first thing thrown out

I would not do any of this (bar the soap holder), I would take it as the tenant not wanting to be blamed for these things on exit if it was not on the entry report.

or

just ask them straight, do you *need* these done, or just advising....PS PM should have already handled it, pees me off no end when I get calls or messages like this and they have not first clarified the position.

2 = yes, if it was actually obvious.

 

That's tenants for you!!!

I want the carpets steam cleaned again because the neighbours cat got in on the first day of their tenancy while they were moving- now we have fleas!!!!

Our response - carpets were steam cleaned when you moved in and no fleas. You now have possession of the property and your responsibilty. If there are fleas at the end of the tenancy, you are liable.

 

I've had lots of nit picky things too. Like the laundry fan being too loud, lights not being bright enough, tap slightly dripping, etc. Many of the things I've fixed I live with in my own place without any issues! And when I was renting I never would have complained about those sorts of things. I've been fixing them but sometimes they ask for additional things (like a ceiling fan with a light instead of just a light) and I haven't given in. If it's any help, all these things add up and you'll get a nice tax return! I get that it really hurts income though.

 

I sure hope those tenants keep the place immaculately and pay a good rent.... fussy!