Can I charge tenant for misusing toilet?

Rehabbing, Fix and Flip, Rental Properties
1

Tenant or his kids had dropped some toy in toilet. At first I was told that toilet is leaking.
Handyman went checked and asked to call plumber . Plumber removed two toilets in 1st floor. checked with snake hook. It didnot help. Later he checked from attic and then from crawl space.
Now the pumbler is going to cut sheet rock then cut the pipe and take out what ever is struck in there.
It cost me $1000 so far. I am using NC state rental contract. Can I charge tenant for misusing the toilet ?
Is it legal.
Please help
Thanks

2

I bill tenants for blockages other than roots, human waste and toilet paper. Toys, Feminine products, food, grease, paper towel blockages all get billed back to the tenant.

3

If it is a toy, the first place I would look would be inside the toilet itself. It’s much more likely for a toy to get stuck in the bends of the toilet than to pass through the toilet and get stuck elesewhere int the pips.

I suspect your plumber is taking you for a ride.

Unless he has the blockage located acurately, there is no point in cutting into the sheet rock. Have you had someone run a camera down the plumbing to locate the blockage precisely? I’d do that before I started tearing out walls.

Yes, if you fnd a toy in the plumbing, and you can prove that the tenant is responsible, the tenants gets the bill (or rather, you pay and try to collect from the tenant)

$1000 to remove and replace 2 toilets and run a snake through the lines is way out of line. You need a new plumber.

4
$1000 to remove and replace 2 toilets and run a snake through the lines is way out of line. You need a new plumber.

…and that’s why I do the maintenance myself. Cost for me to remove and replace 2 toilets and run a snake through the lines: less than $10. So, I save (or earn) the other $990.

Mike

5

Try running water down the lavatory and shower drains. If those drain, then your problem is going to be obviously in the toilet itself, since all 3 drains tie in together anyway. If you do find a toy, you should absolutely bill your tenant or at least withhold security deposit.