Reoccurring Maintenance Issues, Do I Have to Pay?
August 30th, 2007 by Ray RodriguezQuestion:
My tenant is clogging up the toilet by throwing in paper towels and foreign objects. Last time my plumber discoverd a scissor in the plumbing pipe. I know which tenant is clogging the plumbing pipe. How can I prove it is her as the tenants all share the same sewage pipe?
Answer:
The court system works on that which you can prove. If you cannot determine which tenant is causing the blockage, then you cannot proceed.
Author
~Dennis Block: Source
August 31st, 2007 at 9:59 am
This problem seems to be common issue with a lot of owners. I have experienced this problem before and decided to try and build a case. I would accompany my plumber on his maintenance visits so that i could see first hand what was going on. I also took a camera along with me to these maintenance visits. Our problem consisted of the tenant having a small child that would consistenly lodge marbles and other toys down the sink. Therefore, a remember one instance when the plumber opened the pipe and pulled out pieces of an action figure, a boys doll. I took pictures of the pipe before he pulled out the pieces. Then we put the items we pulled out of the pipe in a bowel and took more pictures. I then had my plumber write a testimony stating what he found in the plumbing, further stating that this was not the first time, etc. I informed the tenant that the next time we discovered a similiar issue, she would be responsible for the charges. She could not say anything.
I know the above situation is a bit different, but documenting issues and keeping notes on things is very important. The more paper evidence you have the better.