Atlanta Property Management Company Discusses Owners Not Wanting to Make Repairs
As a professional property manager, we work with a wide variety of properties and owners. Some of our owners are local, but most are out of state or out of country. It seems to me the biggest complaints that we receive in our industry revolves around repairs. Owners don’t understand why they have to be responsible for maintaining their own property when someone else is living in the property.
So I wanted to take a minute to share with you why owners need to perform the repairs and some things to be aware of. The number one reason that an owner needs to repair the property is because it is the law here in Georgia and I would assume in other states as well. Section 44-7-13 of the State of Georgia Landlord Tenant Law Official Code clearly states “The landlord must keep the premises in repair. He shall be liable for all substantial improvements placed upon the premises by his consent.”
In Georgia, the only issues I have ever seen a tenant win a legal case for non-payment of rent was when the owner did not make repairs in a timely or professional manner. The law provides a provision for the tenant to withhold their rent in lieu of repairs if the repairs are not done. Other than repairs, there is not another reason a tenant has for not paying their rent. So why would an owner want to open themselves up for litigation and not perform the repair?
I suppose it comes down to cost. I find it funny when I speak with owners and ask them if they would want to pay to live in a property where the sink constantly drips, or the stove doesn’t work, or the HVAC isn’t cooling properly and they reply of course not, but some expect their tenants to. Most property management companies like ours buy in bulk, that means that we get better service and better pricing than a typical individual would get. We do charge a fee to perform the repair or coordinate the request if not done by the in house maintenance staff. Yet, even then we are significantly cheaper on most items and yet the owners still complain.
What they don’t understand is that we hire professionals who have their own insurance, liability coverage, workman’s compensation, and are screened. We do this to protect our owners as well as our company. We have seen issues where owner’s did not use licensed and insured workers thinking that they were saving money only to be sued later by that same contractor for being hurt on the property. I encourage every owner to think carefully about using legitimate companies with the proper credentials.
If you own rental property, this is a business, the repairs are the expenses are deductible and should be done professionally. Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish.
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