I live in the lower half of a duplex that I own. Both units have a single bathroom, one on top of the other. The upstairs sanitary line is leaking pretty badly and staining the ceiling and walls of my bathroom. I believe that there is a cracked pipe in the floor. I will probably have to remove the floor of the bathroom upstairs to fix this problem and it will most likely not be finished in a day’s time. I am unsure what obligation I am under to my tenants in this situation. Can anyone give my any suggestions about how to handle this situation?
We had the same problem last month on a double. The previous owner had gone through the lower units ceiling to gain access to the pipes. Afterwards he just put up a hung ceiling. Now it is much faster and less costly to fix a problem. Look at it this way, In a lot of situations, it is pretty close cost wise to R&R floor versus a ceiling. BUT, future repairs will be MUCH easier with a removable ceiling.
AltCap
Most leases give you the right to access the unit to make repairs. Look to see if there is a clause in our lease for that. If not just tell them you will be coming in to make repairs and ask them if Tuesday (or whatever day you want) is ok with them. They probably don’t really care.