Should You Allow Tenants to Perform Upgrades or Repairs?
Most landlords we know have heard the request more than once from tenants who want to paint the walls or cabinets, upgrade light fixtures, or change the bathroom flooring. Should landlords allow tenants to work on their properties?
There are many ways to handle this request. Some landlords are fine with upgrades and painting, as long as they approve everything first, from color to light fixture choice. Often, landlords will pay for the materials if the tenant chooses to do the labor.
Tenants often ask for a reduction in rent in exchange for working on the property. Steve is one of them. Steve is a handyman by trade, and his landlord is happy to have Steve do repairs, install plumbing fixtures, and lay tile in exchange for an agreed-upon rent reduction. Steve and his landlord worked the agreement out in advance, and it’s all in writing.
Many landlords have a simple answer when tenants make these requests: NO. There is certainly a liability issue to consider. If your tenant repairs a wood staircase that subsequently fails and injures a resident or visitor, guess who is going to be held liable? If you allow tenants to paint and they do a terrible job, it could cost you to fix it when they move out.
Be sure to be consistent when dealing with tenants; allowing one to paint and not others can cause problems. And if you don’t want to invite trouble, just tell your tenants that your insurance policy will not allow them to paint for do repairs—and hire your own contractor.