do you rent? sooo ticked at landlord

[DuckLady]

We have tenants in our house on an acre in Oregon.
We treasure them.

If they need something they get it.
Furnace filters, chimney sweeping, HVAC maintenance.
Our daughter drives out or calls them once a month to see if they need anything.

All we expect in return is that they pay their rent on time and keep it tidy.

And let me play with their ducks when we visit our friends next door.

 

[redhen]

I have NEVER heard of a tenent being responsible for filter changes ....
Hes just a cheap jerk...
Matter of fact..you could probably nail him good for putting your family in danger by not hiring a professional to fix that furnance....

 

[EweSheep]

For many years, when growing up until I graduated from college, my parents have rented many, many houses.....they ARE responsible for changing filters and other maintaince as mowing the lawn, fixing damages that we caused, NOT wear and tear issues, or something structurually wrong with the house. If you ever get into fire situation that you would be homeless, that is what's renter's insurance is for.......that is what happened to us and glad that we did otherwise we lost alot of the stuff in the basement and ruined items that the firemen created (water/ax damages).

There is NO way that the filter would cause a fire. Its the repairs that cause the fire, hence the filter is an excellent fire starter.....

If the landlord's insurance adjuster comes to the house, tell him what has really happened and if it is serious enough, they can start their investigation.

 

[phaethona]

Quote:
we do all of the maintenance that wouldn't require his help, all yardwork, gutters, carpet cleaning, etc. I even sheetrocked the whole basement after our foundation collapsed a few years back. I really don't like dealing with him so I only call him when we absolutely can't fix something ourselves. And I never really minded having to replace the furnace filters, it just ticks me straight off that he criticizes how I keep the house and tries to say that I should change the filter more than once a month, when really the reason we've had these problems is because of his schotty repair jobs. every single time something's gone wrong with our heating/cooling, he says that it's because I don't change the filters enough and because I don't keep the house clean enough.

you're right, there's no way the filter(which was changed the end of november) caused the fire, the technician even giggled a little when the landlord asked him that. really, how expert could his repairs be if he thinks that a stuck gas valve and faulty wiring arcing to ignite the gas could be caused by a dirty filter?

that's the main reason I wanted my husband home when he was here, because I was gonna throw a fit if he didn't get a certified professional to look at it. luckily there wasn't enough damage to call the insurance co., and I don't have renter's yet, but I'm getting the paperwork started today, we have too much to lose should something like this happen again, lesson learned.

 

[debilorrah]

We are responsible for filters in our rental. Our landlords are great. If we can fix it we do, but if not, they have someone out there right away with no issues about payment either!

 

[PineappleMama]

Mr B always goes the cheapest route, hence calling Buck for all big stuff... like when the shower in the hall bath was leaking, through the wall... Buck came out, fixed it... and whatta ya know it still leaks so he came out again and fixed it, correctly this time... but made sure he smashed the snot out of the (not dry) tiles so they're all funky... so another call in the making... I swear the man leaves another call behind every time he comes out.

Snaking the sewer falls on us... have access to a free snake so no fee, just gross. Have done that once in the 4+ years we've been here. Not that big a thing. Filters and such are on us... but when rodents (thanks to all the holes in the house thank you Buck) ate the insulation he called a real crew to get up there and fix it... fact that Buck cannot fit through an opening that small may have played a part.

Landscape is on us, but NOT tree trimming thank heavens... he got folks out here today to deal with the MESS that he's left here... though to be honest I'm kinda concerned... I mentioned he's a cheapskate? Well then why remove an ugly dead tree for solely prettiness reasons? He's just not the type you know? Makes me worry he's thinking of selling the house... curb appeal and all... since the tree was in the front yard?? Hope I'm doing the molehill thing, but I worry.

We put in the pergo floors, but like you we save the receipt and take it out of the rent... uhh... what else?? Oh, our oven has NEVER worked, 23.5" wall oven, about $600 for a new one... but Mr B won't even call in a repair guy (The gas guy and I thought maybe just a faulty theromostat since it heated up and then shut off... thus the gas guy not leaving the gas on better safe than sorry)... DH told Mr B about that (he stopped in at DH's work) and he says "Oh that's too bad" and walked off... four YEARS later still using a toaster oven.

So... yeah... some pretty annoying bits... but then we're getting this house for the same rent as we were paying over on the other street we lived on before... that was a 2bed 1bath + converted garage house... this is a 4bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage (that has now been closed in in Buck's typical half arsed way ala the giant hole left in the ceiling)... AND in a MUCH safer neighborhood... over there there were like 8 sex offenders within 1 mile... not counting drug labs blowing up and everything else... so this is a MUCH better house and neighborhood... also closer to DH's work (and school but he graduated this month)... over a bargain, but still it is a bit frustrating... and we don't want to say anything for fear he'll raise the rent.. which we CANNOT afford and we'd be stuck back in the bad area, and maybe even an apartment IN the bad area to boot... so we keep quiet and hope for the best.

 

[Mr chicken dude]

Quote:
Definitely looks like he's trying to put his screw up on you....

My dad's a Professional HVAC Tech who has been awarded tech of the year and has been written up in a few HVAC magazines....And changing the filter once a month is definitely fine...He changes the one on our house once a month or usually every one and a half months....

All he's trying to do is blame his amateur/crappy work on you.

 

[Beekissed]

I rent an old farm house and I love it but it is need of many repairs. When I rented it my landlord stated he couldn't afford to repair much, just the essential things like plumbing and such. This is a basic two up, two down with a later addition on the back that is built right on the ground.

I informed the landlord that the plumbing he had done the day before I moved in has been leaking into the bathroom floors and ruining the flooring. He opted to do nothing. The flooring in the addition on the house are the floors affected and they are particle board......

Yep, you can now put your foot through the floors in the bathroom, laundry room and back bedroom. I have done massive painting, recarpeting, patching and repair on many things since I moved in here but I will not fix these things. My solution is to extend the commode plumbing and put down 3/4 in. plywood on top of the flooring of these rooms...I can afford no other solution. Yeah, I could move out but I love the location, the peace, the beauty and this old house. The rent is reasonable, the water is the best I've ever tasted and the utilities are low. The landlord lets me do just anything I want to the place except keep pets inside.

I know he isn't much of a landlord but I like it that he just leaves me alone and that he rented to me at all...most folks around here wouldn't rent to an "outsider". It's his house, if it falls in later it will only be his own fault! For now, if the repairs do not put me or my family in danger, I will tolerate his neglect.

I sympathize with the OP....a bad landlord can make your life horrible. All of the landlords I've ever had have been bad ones, the one I have now is merely unable to afford repairs. I'll take that over evil and untrustworthy any day!

 

[AhBee01]

While you at it, get a carbon monoxide detector, if he is doing repairs on the furnace, not knowing what your doing can be dangerous! I had a furnace leak where we rented thank Goodness I had the HEAP come out to see if they could help with my heating bills! It was a routine check and had to shut my furnace down! scary, we all could have died! Thank God you are all ok!

 

[SillyChicken]

I run a facility and the filters in the huge computer room, where we can't have dust etc...are changed bi yearly...... and the roof units quarterly. Once a month is fine and how you keep the house, has NOTHING to do with it.