A friend of mine who is a landlord recently had to do some minor repairs [replace broken switches, replace light fixtures, etc] in apartments he owns. He promised them that the tenants' stuff would be safe since he would be around to superintendent. It emerged later that the electricians had stolen something from one of the apartments and the tenant had the landlord pay for the stolen item. It had me thinking, maybe the repairs shouldn't be done when the tenants are out? What do you guys think?
Yes, I think so too. After all, they are presently renting the apartment and the properties and belongings inside are theirs. The landlord should have made sure that the tenants were present during the time of repair just to be sure that they are there to look over their things. The landlord might have been there to supervise but he doesn't know which things belonged to the tenants and which belonged to the electricians.
It's always a good idea to make sure the tenant is in the place when anything needs to be taken care of. While nothing might happen on 9/10 occasions it's always better to be safe than sorry. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable entering a property when the tenant is away, even if they had given permission, I'd be inclined to make another arrangement for when they are there.
A landlord is obliged to research the tradesman, to provide notice to the tenant and supply information about the tradesman, and make reasonable accommodation to the tenants wishes if they wish the work to be done while they are present. Beyond that the landlord acts knowing they are responsible for any losses caused by their choice of contractor. So if the contractor they choose is not trustworthy, maybe it s their obligation to be there to supervise ? I would not send any contractor to a rental that I would not trust in my own home, in my absence.
What if the allegations the tenant makes are false? There are people who'll not let an opportunity to rip off someone pass by them. They could simply claim that something was stolen. There's no way the landlord can prove that nothing was stolen and they'd have no choice but to pay for the "stolen item."
When we were renting a house owned by a friend, we handled all the repairs of the house and never bothered with our landlord. In return, they did not bother us either and didn't even increase the rent even once in the 5 years of our renting. Even when we needed to replace some galvanized iron for the roofing, we shouldered the expenses and the landlord was grateful for that. I guess there would be a harmonious relationship between landlord and tenant if they have an open communications.
Any kind of repair being done...if its urgent, the tenant and the landlord ought to be present...to avoid what happened in this case scenario...I hope your friend will not attempt doing anymore repairs when the tenant is out...as for that tenant, he/she must be dumb enough to be so trustworthy {shaking my head...just sad}
I agree with you that the tenant and landlord should be present when a repair is to be done. But we had experienced living in an apartment and there are repairs to be done but no one could stay to oversee because we had to go to work. Since the landlord is treating us like friends, and vice versa, we would entrust the repair work to the landlord. However, it is the responsibility of the landlord when something goes wrong like a missing item inside the house.
Here in the UK, a loandlord is required to give the tenant a certain period of notice before someone comes to the property to carry out a repair. This automatically gives the tenant the option of being there if they wish. However, I would imagine that instances of theft in this manner are few and far beetween. It's not always possible to be present, particularly if you work full-time, so if you are in this situation then it might be sensible to have a quick "recce" before you leave and ensure everything is in it;s right place when you return. On he whole though, this shouldn't really be cause for concern if your landlord is reputable. Most repair workers wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardise their jobs.
I don't think so. It's on the Landlord to find trustworthy technicians that are reputable and won't do a bad job or steal things from the house. If he's going to do repairs on the house when nobody is there to watch, its HIS property too that's at risk. I know I don't have the time to wait around for a technician to come and fix problems around the house and when we've had to do repairs, nobody has been home. I imagine most people would be in the same boat. Regardless, I don't think this happens all that often. The company would not be in business for very long if it was found out that they're stealing from their customers.
