Hi everyone,
I have just received an email from my PM saying the following:-
“The tenant has put a couple of holes in the roof to hang things in the ceiling in one of the bedrooms and as they couldn’t find the timber to attach anything to, the ceiling has dropped a little, but certainly no danger of falling in or anything. We have advised the tenant that they are not permitted to go ahead and do anything without permission from you first”.
What do you all think about this?>
Shelley,
This is yet another of a myriad of examples where your residential tenant has simply squiggled on the bottom of the Lease, grabbed the keys and moved in.
They are in your house and literally free to do as they please. Your PM who sits in an office a couple of miles away and is accessible only during business hours cannot hope to ‘police’ this type of private activity in the home. I’m sure you expectation isn’t that high…
There was absolutely nothing gained by your PM ‘advising’ them not to drill holes in the ceiling…all of that is pretty standard stuff and always clearly spelt out in the Lease.
As with all of these residential little squabbles, the ressy LL doesn’t have any OR’s…
…that is, “you’re not permitted to…” and the common response is “or what ?? what are you going to do ??”
The only “or what” you have is to kick them out, which will definitely take time / stress and lots of cost and usually repair…not such a great “or what” is it…which the tenant knows.
Shelley, like most ressy Landlords, you have pretty much no control over this situation, or any other of the 57 other different little scenarios that regularly pop up on these boards. Check the finer details of the RTA if you don’t believe me. You are the investor – you bear the risk.
So…now your PM has conveniently dumped it straight back in your lap as they always do…what’s the next move ?? Have they offered any suggestions, or is it going to play out as usual with you having to come up with both the solution and the funds to implement it.
My response back to the PM would be “…and…your plan is what ??”
This reminds me alot of flyscreens and getting bonds back off tenants and…there’s a common thread here folks, I’m sure of it.
I would ask the PM to get quotes to fix the slightly fallen in ceiling. Then I would ask them to get the thing fixed at the tenant’s cost.
My thoughts, Wylie.
You will find that your lease will stipulate that the tenant must recify any damage they have caused and do so at latest when they move out at the end of the lease.
I think you should get this rectified NOW. Of course if they don’t rectify the damage they have caused, you may be able to take them to the tenancy tribunal.
Michael Yardney
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