Repairs of fence on patio

Hi All,

As I am new to the investment property scene, much advice will be much appreciated. I just settled an existing semi fibro 3 bedroom house 2 toilet in NSW. I just visited my tenant today and found out that the green fence on the patio(on the right side) in the backyard has is damaged and totally removed. The tenant said that his kid lean on it and it broke. Hence he had to remove the whole fence due to the rotten wood.

While I think the restoration of the fence lies with the tenant at this point, is there by any chance it is the landlord responsibility?

Any advice is much appreciated.

 

Is the fence still around? If it was rotten then it would be a landlord responsibility to fix. I'd be getting the rest of it checked as well...

 

I do not buy it.

Tenants are not to do things like this, is the timber sitting there or did they also do you a favor by getting rid of it ?

 

The fence is no longer around, only part of the base is still there..

 

They did a favor by getting rid of it, which sounds suspicious as he there later mentioned he can use it for BBQ. He did show me 1 piece of wood which used to be part of the fence.

 

Victor, look at your pic and pretend it was someone elses. Maybe the fence was a bit naf, and maybe the kid was a bit exuberant.

Fix it up (it shouldn't cost much relatively speaking), and go one better, and give your tenant a bottle of red (to put a bit in his next pot of Spag Bol...and the rest he can sample...) and say "Sorry for the inconvenience".

And then imagine how you might have a long term tenant, who might not be as sensitive to future rent rises....

 

Depending on the height of the deck above ground level, you might not need to replace it at all.

Check the regulations.

It does appear to block off the deck from the rest of the lawn - possibly a negative. If you replace it, you could use posts and wire to provide a less visible barrier.

By the way, it isn't called a 'fence' when it's part of a balcony - usually a term like 'railing' is used.

 

By the looks the timber is treated pine,not something one would want to use on the BBQ Plate ..Plus did the "P/B" report show any termite damage..

 

How can you tell if it's treated pine from that photo?

 

The other railing is not hardwood,look at the way the roof is set,the same materials would be used for the entire structure ,plus the decking looks the same,could be wrong also..What do you think the timber is?.

 

I might be wrong but it looks like a cheap pine railing I see around the place. This stuff tends to rot quickly from the inside out, it's terribly dangerous when it's used up high and I've had tenants fall through it before.

What are your thoughts on the tenants, do you feel like they might be devious? At this stage I'd probably explain to them that they did the wrong thing by not reporting and documenting the issue, then offer them

 

When I look at the picture, I see someone who has decided to remove a section to open up from where they sit, so my comment was "I do not buy it".

Either way, they have no business modifying or doing such things, they are to advise of such things so owner/PM can determine. I would have them pay for it so they do not think they can just do as they like.

How did I know they did you a favor by getting rid of all that problem timber......

 

Willair, what a P/B report? Pest building report? I didn't get one done as I purchased the property in a hurry.

Tom Rivera, I have no thoughts on the tenant yet as it is 4 weeks old. There are other repairs that needs to be done on the house such as exhaust fan, aircon and door which I am doing in stages due to cash flow issues on my end.

Wylie, The missing railings are at the end. This was a before pic. My bad. I should have uploaded an after pic(but I didn't take any).

My current action has been:-
1) Email the property manager(PM) today to ask him whether he is aware of the broken railing and have been removed. No response from PM yet.
2) Depending on my PM response. My next action will be to ask the PM to notify the tenant not to make changes without notifying PM and me.
3) I will probably let this slide as I can't go a month without a tenant as this Investment prop had just settled 1 month ago.

Thanks all for your advice. I need to look into the regulations. Not sure where to start.

 

Victor,it may be nothing to worry about-as long as your insurance is up too date ..

 

I got myself covered with landlord insurance. So I will see how it goes.

 

I think you're on the right track, well done and congrats on the property!

 

Get ready for all your premiums to go up & they are likely to ask where the evidence is, so unless it really is obvious that it was all rotten, I doubt insurance is the way to go.

Get used to these type of maintenance items though, as they do not stop, I would be thinking like Wylie for now, if it is not required, then do nothing !

 

dabbler, Thank you for your advice.

My Property Manager had paid the tenant a visit and written a report saying the pine wood is rotten and not malicious intent. I am not going to build another railing in replace of the broken one. I think the railing is redundant IMO. I am just dissatisfied that my PM nor me wasn't informed about the broken railing sooner than me finding out during a visit.

One other thing is the tenant has requested all the bedroom carpets to be replaced with timber and he is willing to share the cost? It is advisable to share the cost with him, as he has offered.

 

If the carpet is in OK condition do nothing!

Floorboards look good, but scratch easily. Once scratched, they are hard to repair.

If a tenant pays, they may feel they have a right to treat the floorboards however they want - i.e. badly.