Hi
I have recently been sent a bill from my Property Manager requesting that I pay $132.00 to have a toilet unblocked in one of my investment properties.
Am I, as a landlord responsible for this ??
My husband is a plumber (we live interstate or he would have done the job) and he doesn't believe we are.
I agreed to pay to have the same toilet unblocked 12 months ago.
Who should pay ? The tenant or us ?
comments appreciated
Hi fingerscrossed
Its a grey area…
Did the toilet block because the tenant was intentionally trying to flush nappies or did it block because of old pipes / poor pressure etc ?
Matt
The house is only 2years old. Who knows what's been going in there. Would you pay it matt ? For the second time ?…
I'd be asking a few more questions, yeah…
The plumber who did the job – what report / reason for the blockage did he provide ?
Did that. The plumber just said there was no apparent reason.
I'd be asking a few question to try understand where/what the problem is.
Is it the same tenant?
Do they have small children (put things in the toilet, disposables etc)?
Where in the system is the blockage? Toilet pan, s bends or in the sewer line to the street.
Is it a water saver cistern (inadequate water to flush might predispose a system to line accumulation)?
Has there been any sewer mains relining/inspection work carried out prior to this. Mains inspection is often with cameras. Prior to inspections the lines are water blasted with jetters to clear possible obstacles that may impede the camera. This can throw debris back up laterals and cause problems. Rare but it does occur.
If a reasonable reason for blockages can't be found I would be inclined to inform the tenant (unless otherwise prescribed in the lease agreement) that further unexplained blockages requiring a service person to rectify would be at the tenants expense.
Thanks matt. Thank the freckle. Your comments are appreciated.
At end of day landlord responsible to provide working toilet. But try to ascertain the cause. maybe tree roots? happened to me recently.
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I agree with Terry, the toilet needs to be working… if it is simply blocked without cause, perhaps it is a building fault, the tenant can't be held responsible for that, its like saying the lights don't come on some times so the tenant has to pay to fix that because an electrician can't figure it out.
Unfortunately unless you can prove it was the tenant you are a bit out of luck.
I have a friend who lives in a brand new house, where the toilet always clogs up when his wife uses it.. though never happens to anyone else… perhaps she was just using too much toilet paper or a bit "clogged up" herself… the toilet was pretty small, though apparently nothing a plunger couldn't fix…
I would suggest notifying your agent that you want to be contacted if it happens again, and get a plumber who will investigate it properly and tell you what was wrong rather than doing a temporary patch up job (bare in mind a simple plunger to push the blockage through vs investigating the cause may cost more). Its unfortunate that a lot of tradies just want their call out fee and hours rate for 5 mins work and then bugger of quickly… when you do find a good one hold on to their number!
aussieguy2000 wrote:Unfortunately unless you can prove it was the tenant you are a bit out of luck.
I beg to differ. If a toilet can work fine for 364 days per year then why does it block. That tells me immediately it is neither a design fault nor tree roots. Remember its a newish 2 yr old property. Tree roots where problematic with clay pipes but not PVC. A blockage in PVC can be caused by a crushed pipe but highly unlikely in this case.
My bet is the tenant has used the bog to dump something or if there's kids they've put something down it like a toy.
Your bet is probably right Freckle, and this argument could go on, hence we have a legal system where it can be taken to court, but unless one side bows to the other, the court (usually) relies on onus of proof… at the end of the day unless you have the toy or crap dumped down the toilet (hopefully not IN your hand in this instance) it is going to be difficult to get them to pay.
As the OP stated it happened 12 months ago and again now, so what's not to say the builders blocked it initially, and whatever is blocking it keeps coming back as the plumber isn't clearing it properly (maybe a partially blocked or crushed pipe that is slowly backing up over time, or and endless possibility )… I have had more than a few of these discussions with my PMs and if they can't prove it was the tenant they usually just pass the bill onto me…
At the end of the day the tenant can just dig their heels in and refuse to pay it, and you would have to pay the bill first (as your agent called the tradie) and chase the tenant through legal channels… sometimes $100 just isn't worth the hassle and keeping a happy tenant if this is the only problem is a better option. If the OP wants to chase $100 then she has every right to try….I would just write it off on tax, if the tenants are that bad ask them to vacate at the end of the lease.
Let them know that unexplained toilet blockages could put you in the mood for a rental increase next lease anniversary and that allowances for plumbing costs would have to be considered. Of course they could attend to future blockages themselves which would lead to a more generous consideration of any likely rise.
I'm sure a canny PM would know how to drop a hint or two
LOL has been an "interesting" discussion and I thank all of those who took the time to reply to my post. Maybe the rental increase I just put forward has had something to do with it
I will just pay the bill but make it clear that I would like to be contacted next time it happens before acting on it. $132.00 for 5 minutes work. I think that my plumber husband needs to increase his rates Hi Fingers Crossed,
Someone ahead of me has already suggested a more thorough examination of the situation.
Have heard of builders rubble, dried concrete being found in pipework after the builder has left the scene. Could be circumstances combined in a mini-perfect storm scenario and resulted in a blockage.
You need to ask a plumber who fixed it for a reason of it being blocked. If it got blocked because something intentionally or accidently was dropped to a toilet, then a tenant is responsible for a bill, if not -then you, as a landlord should pay it. Tenants pay you rent every month and you are responsible for any repairs which did not occur due to negligence.
I will just pay the bill but make it clear that I would like to be contacted next time it happens before acting on it. $132.00 for 5 minutes work. I think that my plumber husband needs to increase his rates 
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