I have a rental that had an older washer/dryer that was left in the house when we purchased it. A few months after the tenants moved in the dryer has died. They are not paying any extra per month for use of the appliances… Nothing is in the lease saying we have provided these appliances. They were aware that they were older and just a bonus that they were there. Do I have to buy a new one to replace the dead relic??
Since the lease doesn’t address the issue, it is assumed the rent included everything in the unit at the time of move-in. My answer changes if you have some kind of proof they weren’t part of the rent and your state doesn’t require maintenance.
I’d just go to the local used appliance store and replace it with a used one. You should be able to find a good used dryer for $50 to $100. In the future, I would suggest including a clause in your lease that the washer/dryer are not part of the lease and will not be replaced or repaired by the landlord.
Good Luck,
Mike
note to self… remove any left over appliances before lettnig someone move in! I swear people will take advantage of every little thing if it’s not in writing. Oh how I wish we actually had a used appliance place around here!
Wow, no used appliance place? That sucks. Try Craigslist.com. We have a great used appliance place around here, my ex-gf’s parents bought us a washer and dryer from there cheap and they ran great with no issues. I think it was $150 for the pair. No repairs in the 4-5 yrs I lived there. In the meantime her parents bought a BRAND NEW washer that was fixed so many times under the warranty that it was rediculous, there were downstairs using ours. As of the time I dumped that pain in the a** and moved out they were running fine.
In my “lower” rentals I have no washers, dryers, air conditioners, dishwashers, garbage disposals, faucet sprayers, etc. just because they’ll become nothing but maintenance items…It was actually surprising to me that it’s almost never a deal breaker for a tenant anyway…
I would think that since the washer/dryer were there when the tenant moved in that you’d be responsible for their upkeep since they were part of the "package’ that you showed in your rental…Your lease doesn’t mention anything about the water heater either, but of course if it breaks down you’re responsible…You may have to wait around until the lease comes around for renewal to change the lease to “unguarantee” the washer/dryer operation…
Next time you rehab, you can set them out front of your unit with a “free” sign on them…They’ll be picked up by the metal sellers in no time…
Try scratch and dent departments at retailers or floor models. For low end units, just having the items are good enough. They don’t need to be new or have the bells and whistles. Around me, laundromats are on every street corner and having on-property w/d is a big plus. If you use coin-ops, they can become a profit center.
Some LLs I know “sell” the appliances to the tenants and “buy” them back at the end of the tenancy to avoid these situations.
Go with the craigslist, should be able to find something. Maybe something in the coin op variety would be good to. Most apartments that supply washer/dryer charge $1 per use on each.
I bought a brend new one from Sears not long ago for about $250 - $300. If it were me and they were good tennants I would just replace it.
My experience has been a one time $200-300 fix to keep a good tennant happy is a lot cheaper than it sitting vacant and having to get it back rent ready