The flush lever on my toilet has snapped off. It had been gradually warping for a week or so, and last night the connection between the lever and the plastic rod inside the tank finally failed. (It appears to be as cheaply made as a part can get, 100% low-grade plastic.) The toilet still works, of course, it’s just an inconvenience having to flush it manually from within the tank.
I was just now writing an email to the landlord asking if she could arrange to have this fixed, when I was overcome with the feeling that I was being a jackass. I could get a cheap replacement (I think) for about $5, install it myself, and have the landlord reimburse me, whereas if they have to hire a plumber to deal with this it’s going to cost them . . . well, I’ve actually never hired a plumber, but a lot more than $5.
So, should I go ahead and send that email, reasoning that this is exactly why I pay rent? Or would it be better to fix it myself? I’ve never replaced a toilet handle, but it doesn’t look like brain surgery. Mostly, I’m relatively new at this whole “renting an apartment” thing, and I’m a little unsure of the norms involved. Maybe this is totally standard (my roommate seems to think so), but it just *feels *petty to have them deal with a problem so easily fixed by myself when it would cost them much more money to bring in a 3rd party.
Your lease may mention something about this - there is often a clause that says “repairs under $X are the responsibility of the tenant, more than $X are the responsibility of the landlord.”
It depends on the landlord. If it’s a little old lady who knows nothing about taking care of a building, then she’d probably appreciate an email with your offer to take care of it yourself.
If it’s a management company, they’ve got their own people who take care of basic maintenance type stuff and probably already have the part on-hand.
If it’s just regular property owners, then something in-between.
If you just email about the problem and offer to take care of it, I’m sure they’ll let you know what they prefer.
I’ve been a renter for 16 years. I wouldn’t take it upon myself unless I broke it or felt it would be more hassle to deal with the landlord. The place I live in now would have it fixed for me the same day,
It depends on your relationship with the landlord, and any explicit terms in your lease.
If this were a big apartment building with a superintendant I would expect it to be fixed the same day I reported it. But this sounds like a one-off unit for the landlord.
This is *such *a trivial repair (it doesn’t not actually involve plumbing), if it were me I would send an email saying I’m going to fix it myself and reduce the rent by the cost of parts plus $10 for my labor, or something like that. Otherwise you will be reaching in the tank to flush for days, or longer, until the landlord finally gets around to it.
I’d just call your landlord and let them know and offer to fix it yourself since it’s so cheap and easy. If they object, they’ll tell you but I doubt that they would. It’s an inexpensive and easy way to score a point with your landlord that you might find useful someday, and it’s just nice to do. We certainly wouldn’t mind if the guy that rents our cabin did it and we’d appreciate the no-fuss approach. Then again the cabin is 50 yards away and we can fix anything ourselves so we wouldn’t mind being asked to deal with it either.
I’m impatient. If my choice was $5 and less than an hour of labor or waiting around for a plumber to be contacted and show up, I’d just do it.
Long time renter here. Although I actually do repairs on my landlord’s property as an independent contractor, I’d still e-mail/call/whatever the landlord and say “X broke, do you mind if I fix it, or would you prefer to?” just as a courtesy because, after all, you are NOT the owner.
If it’s an emergency do it yourself and settle accounts later (if you do have emergency repairs done the landlord should reimburse you, but laws vary from place to place, as well as the decency of landlords)
If it’s minor, ask first, wait a reasonable time for a reply (a day I’d say) then, if no response, fix it.
Charge for labor? For this? I think not - keep receipts for anything you buy. What should happen from the landlord is reimbursement for parts plus a thank you. These days, though, no guarantee.
If you truly don’t mind fixing it yourself, I agree that you should ask them what they want you to do.
Personally, though, I would not feel guilty about asking a landlord to fix something for me even if it was a small part. Part of what you’re paying for with a rental is the peace of mind of knowing that maintenance of the place is someone else’s problem.
Even if it’s not hard to fix it, who wants to waste their time going to Home Depot and messing with the toilet? Your time is as valuable as anyone else’s.
Your deal with them is basically that you’ll pay rent and not trash the place in return for them keeping the place inhabitable for you. Fixing stuff there is just part of them keeping their end of the deal.
If you’re worried about being “petty”, try withholding $10 of your rent next month and see if they decide it’s too “petty” to go after you for it.
Wow. When I rented, I’d do your small fix and tons of other small fixes like that without even thinking twice about it. I’d never call the landlord, either, nor did I ever ask for reimbursement or anything.
I guess my reasoning was thus: it’ll be twice the hassle to notify the landlord and get it scheduled and then get someone in to fix it than it is for me to just do it myself. If I do it, it’s done and I get to get on with life. If I have the landlord do it, it might not get fixed for a little while and someone else will have to come in my home and it just always seemed like a bigger deal. So I just went ahead and did it.
These were always small fixes, though - fixing the toilet, clearing the drains, fixing the door stop jobby - tiny stuff even tools-challenged Snicks could handle. My roommates (when I had them) would’ve been more inclined to call maintenance if I didn’t just do it, but it was easy, so I did. Anything larger than that, I would’ve called for.
Thanks for the advice, everyone. I sent off an email asking whether they wanted to deal with it themselves or have me just do it. In the past they’ve been pretty good about upkeep, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they chose to do it themselves. I’ll probably post an update when appropriate.
Second this. I’ve replaced the toilet tank lever more than once. I even replaced the tub handle when it cracked. I agree with you that it’s simpler to do it myself than to go through the hassle of calling them. (Also, when I do call them, I feel the need to straighten up before I expect them to arrive.)
Hi VarlosZ. Generally repairs will be the responsibility of the landlord. If it is a professionally managed property I would have them do it. If it is a private rental, offering to do small repairs (assuming you can do so) is a good idea. Asking is better than just going ahead and doing the repair as (1) you have a little more legal protection if something goes wrong, and (2) your landlord knows you have been doing a little extra for him (or her). Goodwill is never wasted.
Update: I heard back from them. They say I should just go ahead and do it myself if I’m able, and they’ll reimburse us for the part and give us $15 for the trouble. Thanks again for the advice.
