That's the question. I've heard people do it different ways. With my previous tenants I did not. They rarely called about anything. If they did I would check it out or send someone. Due to the age of appliances my current tenant has had to call about a few things; nothing major. Usually I'll check it out myself, but when she called about the water heater I sent a plumber. Turns out the pilot light went out for some reason.

Do any of you require your tenant to pay the first $XX.00 of a repair job?

Oh, I agree. I wouldn't want a tenant (especially this one lol) trying to light a pilot light. I think that's one reason I've never charged. I don't want them trying to fix something and screwing it up. Bulbs, clogs, air filters, etc. are all her responsibility.

At my last rental property we had a nominal fee for repair calls. I believe it was $75. I had a property management company handling everything.

We live next door to our rent house, so it is easy to walk over and take a look since "we" are the property management company. Our tenant is elderly and only asks for valid issues; they are good about saying if something is minor and can wait or emergent.

We do not for our local properties. Luckily our tenants are pretty good at doing things. But one of them we do go change air filters or at least drop them off so they will do it. Now I can't speak to what we do for our rent house in Oklahoma as we use a property management company for that and they handle it all.

Some of this depends on the property and your judgement. Something renting out $1-2K probably not the best idea to charge the fee due to some of the issues mentioned above. The property where I charged the fee was renting out at $4.5K a month and typically had expats in it (Houston area), I had zero issues with them reporting problems.

We charge a trip charge if a vendor goes and is unable to access the property. The only time we bill to tenants otherwise is if they are the cause of the repair.

Furlock Bones said:

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Isn't the OP the same one that came here asking whether he should charge his last long term "good tenants" for wear and tear items?

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Not even close to what I asked but thanks for stocking me.

Medaggie said:

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I would never do this. I want them to tell me of any issues so I can fix it and have a chance to look at the place. Place a charge and they will never call letting things decay or even worse fix it and really screw things up

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That's been my thinking the last 4 years. But I'm always curious how others run things.

I do not charge, but i also state in the lease document that tenants are responsible for all repairs under 500 dollars.


as you'd expect - i dont get called much.

what you would not expect - the rentals are usually in the same or better shape than before move-in. a little personal responsibility helps renters act like home owners in a great percentage of cases.

Was wondering if that was bothering anyone else.

not really - been a landlord since 2008. People usually hate landlords for a ton of reasons, but my maintenance minimum has never been complained about.


here is a list of what really bugs lifetime renters (my targets b/c they rarely move)

- overwatching and micromanaging your tenants
- acting like the rental is your property and tenants are just moron children borrowing it for 12 months
- charging maintenance visits
- not responding quickly enough (like telling someone your AC is out, they give you a window unit and then balk on the repair for 5 days)


i'd guess i have had 50 rental agreements with that 500 limit clause. never had anyone be upset about it. i have never once heard someone complain during the lease. when they move out there is stuff changed from move in condition, but not seen anyone neglect stuff like i would prior.


all in all - it works well. i dont get called when a doorknob gets old...or a toliet needs a new flopper. right now i have tenant average of 3.5 years with me. if you have college students or immature people my method wont work.

How about a built in microwave or light fixtures; would you expect the tenant to replace them if it wore out due to age?

Do you consider replacements like this differently than a "repair" like a toilet flapper?

The pearl clutching here is hilarious.

If the landlord and tenant agree to the policy (which would be clearly stated in the lease), who cares?

People love telling other folks how they should operate their business.

I guess you can call it pearl clutching. My wife and I own a few rental properties. I just cannot imagine operating like this.

and that's your choice.

I don't see why you would care what another landlord does.

the tenant is free to agree to the terms, or find another place.

dubi said:

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How about a built in microwave or light fixtures; would you expect the tenant to replace them if it wore out due to age?

Do you consider replacements like this differently than a "repair" like a toilet flapper?

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if they call i come fix it. what i am saying is i rarely get called. i was up to 13 tenants when my dad died. all of his leases depended on him to maintain and fix like general old man with rentals in his neighborhood does. i had to evict two of them b/c he was too nice to them. charging top rent and letting them shortpay nearly every month. if a sink was running i had to go and adjust the trap. just piddly bs most of the time.

my way worked better so we sold his stuff off and i


not getting contacted by tenants is awesome and to get paid without being contacted on any day other than holidays to say merry christmas, we want to extend our lease.


and this may sound crazy. i have not had a call on light fixtures in since 2020...had an electrician replace the panel b/c it was electrical issue and not fan issue. that tenant has not contacted me since 2022 outside off customary holiday texts.


Outside of HVAC i rarely get called. I had a fence rebuilt by a tenant after Beryl and he never even asked for help. looks like a better job than i would have done.

Thanks for clarifying