Quick Question for Landlords

[chemistk]

We currently are renters, and while I know the best answer is to approach the property management group (our landlord uses a PMG that manages well over 100 rentals) with this question, I thought I'd see what some of you landlords thought about this.

Now that everyone's stuck inside all day, every day, I find myself with a significant amount of 'down time' and have been looking for stuff to do around the house. My kids are also stuck inside and as you can imagine, are going crazy.

Our oldest was running too fast, slipped, and accidentally punched a nice hole through the drywall. It's not the first hole they've created, but it's the largest. Given the downtime, I really want to just go ahead and repair it myself but I also don't want a slap on the wrist whenever we move out.

I figure it'd be way cheaper for me to fill it and the other small holes than it would be for them to pay their repair guy after we move out. As it stands, I figure the repairs will all be dinged from our security deposit.

So, would you trust a tenant to do some basic repairs on one of your properties?

[waltworks]

If you kinda know what you're doing, sure. Patching big holes in drywall and making it look nice is relatively easy but people still screw it up.

-W

[SwordGuy]

If asked, I would tell folks they are welcome to fix it themselves and if they do a good enough job I'll accept it. If not, they'll pay to fix it and they'll have also paid for the materials for the botched job.   They know their skill level, so make their choice.

That seems fair.

[YttriumNitrate]

My criteria is that the tennats can make repairs as long as doing so won't potentially mess up other things. With drywall, you might do a crummy job, but it was broken anyways. On the other hand, trying to fix a leaky fixture can lead to water damage elsewhere.

[KarefulKactus15]

As a tenant I've always gone under the assumption that if I do a job so good the landlord can't tell it's ever been touched ....  Then it doesn't matter.

If they can - then you did a shit job and should pay for it to be fixed.

I've actually kept my unit in better condition then it was when I got it.

A screw to secure a shelf here .. adjusting a cabinet hinge there.  Replacing a sketchy light switch. Repaired the hot water heater (cause is it really worth not having hot water to wait a couple hours for what I can fix for 30$ immediately?)

On and on

[chemistk]

I've toed the line in the past - I'm relatively handy and there have been times where I've opted to just repair it myself rather than wait for service. I've rehung shelves, replaced toilet tank components, broken shower handle, redone bad caulk jobs, etc.

Other things I've left to the service guys - galvanic corrosion dissolved the shutoff valve to the washer, we had a leaky wax ring on a toilet, the microwave stopped working, etc.

I figure when we move out, they'll probably notice the high end eco-friendly tank hardware vs the contractor special float/flap. and obviously that's nothing to complain about, but drywall is something that I can fix but it'll obviously look like it since the paint isn't full white and although the cans are here in the basement, they're of unknown age.

My best guess is that he/they (the PMG) won't care. The townhouse connected on one side of us is also owned by the same landlord and the previous tenants there installed a whole woodworking shop in the garage. Like, the guy even rewired the dryer electrical and installed an aux. box in the garage just to run his >$50k worth of woodworking equipment. They also had cats under a strict no pet policy. Our landlord showed up one day for another reason, saw the aux box, saw the wood shop, saw the cats, and supposedly (according to our neighbors) said nothing and did nothing.

I just wanted to get a feel for how others would react to tenants doing maintenance, I'll probably still ask but assuming no pushback I'll just fix our messes (so to speak).

[therethere]

By offering to fix it you are admitting fault to breaking it. Depending on how your PM is (mine is very greedy), they will most likely tell you not to fix it and that you will have to pay the full cost for a handyman to come out and repair. A drywall repair requires drying and multiple visits and could turn out to be expensive. I'm speculating, but it would likely be cheaper to complete as part of a move-out turnover rather than a maintenance request. So it really is depending on your landlord/PM and whether they go strictly by the books or are more relaxed.

As a long time renter, I would fix it myself and hope they don't notice it. I actually have a hole in the wall that is on my quarantine to do list. Match the paint of the room and paint the entire wall if it is manageable. Otherwise, if it's in a high light area the difference in paint will be noticeable at some angles. I think I've done more work in my rental than the maintenance man has. But I live in an older home.

[chemistk]

There's no hiding this one, it's a 4"x 4" hole, the drywall was all fresh a few years ago after the house flooded and all the drywall on two floors was replaced. I agree that it's probably pretty easy for them to fix during move-out, but I'm also just looking for stuff to do in my free time and really want to avoid my kids throwing shit into the hole.