{"id":4754,"date":"2017-01-23T07:57:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T12:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?p=4754"},"modified":"2017-01-23T07:58:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T12:58:20","slug":"4-ways-to-get-your-landlord-to-make-repairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/4-ways-to-get-your-landlord-to-make-repairs\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Get Your Landlord to Make Repairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best thing about renting an apartment<\/a> as opposed to buying a home<\/a>? Your landlord is legally responsible for making repairs! You don\u2019t have to spend money on them. The worst thing about renting an apartment as opposed to buying a home? Your landlord is responsible for making repairs, <\/span>and probably hates spending money. Therefore, it can be tricky to get your landlord to make repairs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019ll come as no major shock that a lot of landlords can range from lazy to outright negligent regarding their attitudes towards proper upkeep of the property that you\u2019re living in, even though you have it in black and white in your lease who’s responsible for making repairs<\/a>. If you\u2019ve ever found yourself screaming at your phone because your landlord and maintenance person both refuse to pick up the phone and acknowledge your right to such luxuries as clean water\/working air conditioning, read on for a few strategies that you can use to help them help you. These are ordered from friendliest to most confrontational and should be tried in the order they\u2019re written.<\/p>\n

\"4waystogetyourlandlordtomakerepairs\"<\/p>\n

1. Make it easy for them.<\/h2>\n

Sometimes, a landlord simply isn\u2019t getting your repair done because they\u2019re busy and overwhelmed. This doesn\u2019t make it OK You deserve a nice place to live, but it is the easiest to work with. <\/span>Let\u2019s do an example! You\u2019re a frustrated tenant living in a house with water that smells of sulfur. No matter how many times you email your landlord, you cannot get them to install a water filter. You might be surprised at how far you\u2019ll get with a simple change in tone. If your emails had looked like this in the past:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy water smells like sulfur and you need to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Try writing this:<\/p>\n

\u201cHello! As you know from my recent emails, we\u2019ve been having a pretty serious water issue, but haven\u2019t seemed to be able to reach a firm plan of action for fixing it with you. I want to make this as easy as possible for you \u2013 is there anything I can do to move this along faster? I\u2019d be happy to order the parts and supervise the labor so all you would have to do is pay the bill I forward you. Additionally, I\u2019ve been happy living in the house other than this issue \u2013 I would love to write you a testimonial for your website once this has been fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

See what a difference that is? You\u2019re empathizing with their needs, offering to make their lives easier, and then providing a strong incentive for them to help you out.<\/p>\n

2. Write a certified letter.<\/h2>\n

If your landlord doesn\u2019t respond to you playing nice, it\u2019s time to bust out the medium-sized guns: the written word. Type up a letter detailing exactly what your complaints are, hand-sign it in blue ink to make it look official, and send it via certified mail. What that does is it requires your landlord to sign it in order to receive it.\u00a0<\/span>What\u2019s the benefit of this?<\/span><\/p>\n

Your landlord cannot claim they never got your complaint<\/span><\/i>. You have absolute proof that they are aware of the condition that needs repair, which is so important if you need to pursue steps 3 or 4.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more:<\/p>\n