Are Delinquent Tenants Entitled to Priority Maintenance Repairs?

So this could potentially be a loaded question, but I’m very curious to hear thoughts on this. I think the general consensus tends to be that the process for maintenance requests is simple. Something happens, a repair needs to be made, the tenant reports it, repairs are made, done.

But what about when a tenant is behind on rent? Does this have any bearing on when or how repairs are addressed? Should landlords have the right to deny these repairs if a tenant is behind on rent?

There are several factors involved here. One being, what is the nature of the repair? The general rule of thumb is that repairs that make the property uninhabitable, or repairs that could cause further damage to the property, must be addressed. Repairs that are cosmetic are at the discretion of the landlord. Also, it depends on the terms of the lease. If certain terms are explicitly detailed in the lease, they must be upheld.

Sooooo then there’s the question of rent. Let’s say a tenant is a month or two behind, should this change this process? What about a year or more?

Now that your juices are flowing, Story Time. As you know if you’ve been following me or checked out my site, I am a REALTOR, and Property Manager. So I see ALL aspects, sides, and perspectives, as it relates to real estate. So as a property manager, my company took on a property that was previously managed by another company. The tenants had an existing lease which expired a few months ago. The property was also unlicensed. The tenants in the property have not paid rent since Summer 2020. The reason this went on so long is 1) we already inherited the balance from the previous management company 2) they never completed the rental registration process and you can’t evict without one 3) Covid and the eviction moratorium.

So now under our management we have completed repairs for the rental registration and the tenants have allegedly applied for rental assistance. However, the last payment this tenant has paid out for rent was in the Summer of 2020. The tenants include, a woman and her adult son. She admits that she has gone back to work after being laid off. Again, no payments have been received. Not even $100 towards rent since 2020. Fast forward, tenants refrigerator goes up. The owners try to get this resolved under warranty, as they don’t want to come out of pocket for this tenant. Tenant calls and calls, she is angry and frustrated. She asks me how would I feel if I didn’t have a refrigerator? And “Why don’t I still have MY refrigerator?” “This is unacceptable!” Proceeds to hang up on me, calls back to hang up on me again. Trust me my days are never boring.

PAUSE

I think now is a good time to pose the question, where does the money for said repairs come from?

That’s right guys, it comes from money received in rental income. Therefore, if a tenant is not paying rent, not only is the landlord not receiving income for profit. But they also aren’t receiving income for EXPENSES, which includes repairs. At that point you are living in someone’s property, not paying rent which you signed a contract (your lease) to pay, and are asking them to pay out of pocket. Yes! Out of pocket. Because yes, as a landlord you should have money saved for expenses, etc. But essentially landlords use income to pay off the mortgage for the property, as well as have income. So a year of no income is prettyyyy bad. (Understatement)

Actual balance.

I’m using this tenant as an example, but she is definitely not the first tenant I’ve had who has this perception, and definitely won’t be the last.

So I’m curious to know different thoughts on this. My opinion is pretty clear, if I owed over a year in rent, I wouldn’t even feel comfortable making “demands” from anyone. But that’s just me. Drop a comment below if you have another take on this, I love engaging :)