Landlords: Reactive Property Maintenance Headaches
Landlords face persistent challenges with property maintenance, ranging from appliance failures and plumbing issues to unexpected repairs and tenant neglect. These issues often involve delayed responses, costly repairs, and disputes over responsibility, creating stress and financial burdens for landlords. The complaints highlight a lack of preventative maintenance and a reactive approach to property upkeep.
SOURCES (60)
“Getting crawlspace encapsulated soon, crawlspace folks said we needed to get a plumber to get a 3/8 hose connection from the condensate pump to the drain line. Had plumbers out today. Thoughts on this scope of work “Cut in wye on main drain. Install ptrap…”
“High end luxury appliances are never kept in stock; there's always a lead-time. The point was 240v residential dishwashers absolutely exist. It's not the average American purchase, but they're not unheard of. And people that have that kind budget buy and gut-remodel their kitchens with no regard. The appliances get "thrown out" so you never know what someone has managed to pick up for cheap/free and gotten setup in their home regardless of class. Look my point was primarily”
“We have been living in this apartment for almost 10 years. I have noticed the past couple of months these pink orange hued stains on the ceiling in the living room. I'm not sure if it is water damage or if it's just the crappy popcorn ceiling paint wearing ofd. The stains are where the ceiling and walls meet. The stains are only in the living room. The apartment was originally a garage that our landlords turned into a living space while they built their house. submitted by /u”
“I just moved out and moved into a complex with too many units to count. The main reason I signed a lease here is due to the central air written into the lease. I come to find out the “central air” is very old and blows 70 degree air. This system is so old it requires R22 Freon to recharge the system (only EPA certified hvac techs can purchase it and I’m pretty sure they’re not certified as they lied and told me it didn’t exist when it’s just extremely limited).It also tends to be very noisy when”
“As others have said, the water damage means you could be over your head (pun intended). You will likely be dealing with mold, replacing ruined wood, and maybe some electric work. All of which may need to be cleared with the HOA, not including the roof and the external wall. If the HOA is not responsive you will have to sue, which I doubt you have the money for. What is your job history op? Are you in a trade or a handy man? If you were this would make a lot more sense as you could repair some of”
“If you live in an apartment report for emergency maintenance and if they don’t come you can actually sue a complex for that. That’s a health violation and water leaks that bad could cause more problems if left unattended 100% have the property staff report that in for repairs since you’re not obligated as a renter to fix their problems. The other pic look like mold but I could be wrong”
“I had a weird double sided tape incident on a wall in my kitchen that resulted in some damage to my wall. My neighbor saw it and thinks the landlord will charge me $1000 to repair it but that seems a little high to me. How much should I plan on paying when I move out? I wouldn't mind attempting to repair it myself but I'm worried that the paint wouldn't match and I'd end up owing more. submitted by /u/BeautifulAmbition538 [link] [comments]”
“I just purchased this house and pulled out two filters that haven’t been changed in a long time. The ceiling filter I believe is the only return for the upstairs. For the basement, they remodeled in the last 6 years and ran new HVAC and added this air handler which also has a filter in it. Is it better to keep one filter over the other, or should I run both? Additionally, getting a ton of condensation on ducting, but I am still trying to troubleshoot that before asking in a post. Thanks in advan”
“I just purchased this house and pulled out two filters that haven’t been changed in a long time. The ceiling filter I believe is the only return for the upstairs. For the basement, they remodeled in the last 6 years and ran new HVAC and added this air handler which also has a filter in it. Is it better to keep one filter over the other, or should I run both? Additionally, getting a ton of condensation on ducting, but I am still trying to troubleshoot that before asking in a post. Thanks in advan”
“We bought a 2002 home a few months ago. Inspection found no plumbing issues. We replaced the ACs in April. Inspector said ACs were original and not functioning well. I noticed a musty smell about 1 week ago in a 2nd floor bathroom. I looked under and found mold under the sink. Confirmed p trap is not leaking. The drain has the AC condensation line emptying into the sink drain. No leaks from there. I ended up cutting past the vanity wall and the drywall to look at whats going on behind there. The”
Sizing appliances based off of current pex layout is mad work OP🤣
“Awesome thank you! Do you know which size I should get for a Whirlpool WHES33? Completely new to home ownership and all this.”
“So I've lived in this apartment for 2 years and I am preparing to move out in a few weeks and I have this huge wall stain behind where my pillow would rest against the wall. It feels slightly damp to the touch vs where there is no stain, almost smoother? How in the world do I remove it. submitted by /u/EJaws [link] [comments]”
“Hello, MA licensed plumber here. You need to hire a licensed plumber in Massachusetts to work on that. They will have to coordinate with the town/city water department to shut the house off at the street in order to replace shutoff valve "0" in your picture. I am all for DIY, but I don't really recommend it for your water main.”
“Hey so recently moved into a rental appartment on the first floor. First few weeks everything was great until our pipe started leaking which created moisture in the bathroom which I guess attracted the little mfs. They linger in the bathroom and mostly the bathtub. They started appearing Wednseday night, on Thursday I bought instecticide and traps and cleaned everything (I’m already a clean freak who cleans every day) and sprayed it all throughout the bathroom and all the other rooms. On Friday”
“Found this during an open house that was up for sale. Water line is for an outside hose bib. submitted by /u/firefighter1241 [link] [comments]”
“So towards the beginning of June I had a terrible smell in my apartment for over a week, it was a musty and rancid smell that was worst by the entrance. I contacted maintenance and all they said was that “source of smell was located and removed”, however the smell did not go away for another 2-3 days. I tried posting to the apartments community page to see if anyone else in my building had the same issue, but management blocked my post. Then a few days later I walked out and saw this notes on my”
“Hi all, we have been living in the same rented accommodation for the last few years and the property comes with a garage. When we moved in, I asked the landlord when we would receive a key for the front/main garage door. The landlord said there wasn’t one as the door doesn’t open/work. This is how it’s been since we moved in and the landlord hasn’t had any interest in repairing the door and tbf we’ve previously not asked. However, I was price checking contents insurance and wondered if the garag”
“The old convector unit in my apartment was leaking so I lifted off the front cover and this is what I found. Is this normal? It's so dirty and degrading I would think it can't be healthy and maybe a fire hazard come winter. The building tech came to fix the draining problem but wouldn't even touch this panel. I brought it to the attention of building management and they said it's fine and that "they are all like that" (large building, over 300 convectors). Can't get”
“I feel your pain I just spent 20,000 and 3 weeks of my own labor putting one back together.”
“We’ve been unable to ascertain the age of our roof through disclosure docs and public permits. Our city’s database has a roofing permit for our address filed in 1995, before our neighbor moved in, in 2001, but he insists the previous owner replaced the roof while he’s been there (since 2001), and I wouldn’t be shocked if the previous owners did unpermitted work. Here are photos from the most worn parts. The last three were taken a year ago; all the other photos are from this week. Figured I’d gi”
“Hello, forgive me if this isn't the right sub for this, but I was looking for advice on a situation with my apartment. Last Thursday I had a maintenance man show up at my door, The apartment below and to the left of me had some water in their bedroom so they were checking the surrounding units for a source. Turns out it was my AC that was the culprit. I didn't even notice there was an issue because the unit is built into the wall with a metal cover over it, so it's not accessible or”
I rent a place. It took months for them to finally fix my floor. They fixed it yesterday, came back today to clean up. I noticed when they left the glue was…
“I would love to get some advice/guidance on an issue I have been living with since January 2024. My bathroom ceiling has water damage, with the source coming from the apartment above me. I have been advised that this is a building issue and requires the body corporate to resolve. This has been raised with the body corp multiple times; however, their response has always been some variation of “we are aware of the issue and working to resolve it” After well over 2 years, it feels as though my emai”
“I would love to get some advice/guidance on an issue I have been living with since January 2024. My bathroom ceiling has water damage, with the source coming from the apartment above me. I have been advised that this is a building issue and requires the body corporate to resolve. This has been raised with the body corp multiple times; however, their response has always been some variation of “we are aware of the issue and working to resolve it” After well over 2 years, it feels as though my emai”
“My rental house had experienced some hvac condensing water leak last weekend. The tenant turned it off very quickly and we got HVAC fixed quickly. But now I’m worrying if there are water damage and need the floor replaced partially. The area of damage does not look big. I am wondering if I should hire flooring guys to see if it’s needed for some work, or maybe just do disinfectant and dehumidifier is enough? I don’t know if I can trust flooring guys. They might suggest replace the bamboo floor.”
“They also boasted app operated laundry which was practically the BIGGEST REASON I wanted to move out of my current coin operated place: it’s so unnecessarily difficult to find quarters here and all the laundromats now know my face. Well, it’s not app operated! You can REQUEST and pay for quarters from the maintenance guy online but does he actually have them when you need them? Will he get to you in a timely manner? Of course not! The classic outlets painted over with shitty white paint too. My”
“We bought a 2003 build (only 1 owner) a few months ago. Our contractors just finished a basement remodel and everything is done (cabinets, backsplash, counters). When we started, there was existing "rough-in" plumbing for a bar sink. The last thing to do was hook up the sink to our existing "rough in" (see picture 1). The water works from the pipes, but the drain pipe did not. When we opened the wall, we saw that the drain pipe only goes UP... There is no attachment or drain”
“Any advice appreciated, they didn’t even give us 24 hours to prepare and i’m stressed out about it submitted by /u/Infinite_Mountain326 [link] [comments]”
“Is $180 per pound of R410a installed a fair price? Looking to repair a refrigerant leak and was quoted roughly $950 for the repair then $180 per lb (4) needed . submitted by /u/InspectorDistinct868 [link] [comments]”
“Dont touch it if youre renting. Thats a dumb move. Just put it back together and call the landlord.”
“I live in a studio apartment in the basement of an old house. There’s been a lot of issues since I moved in here in sept 2025. My main issue right now is that my apartment flooded during a huge rain storm over a month ago and water came up through my floor panels. It happened on a Sunday and they had someone out the following Tuesday to remove part of the flooring and dry my unit out. Since then, two foundation specialists have come out to look, but nothing has been done. So I’ve been living wit”
“So this is the fairly ghetto setup in my apartment, I’ve already contacted maintenance (water damage/leaking on the second photo), but I was curious if there was any immediate cause for concern, anything I can do proactively while I wait for maintenance, or any idea what is causing this. Thanks! submitted by /u/YTSuka420 [link] [comments]”
“it's a very tricky situation on the front of "who covers the appliances" because it says they are provided "as is condition" in the lease but reasonable courts usually rule in favor of tenants when they take ownership of the unit with a broken appliance, if it wasn't disclosed (it wasn't), because the appliance being included is a selling point.”
“So my partner and I were supposed to start moving into our new place today but upon walking in we noticed that the house definitely is not in the same condition that we toured it in about a month ago. Right away by the front door we noticed what we assume to be evidence of termites, so I wanted to ask the hive mind and see about getting an ID on the situation. Blessings! submitted by /u/BexianBlank [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I'm in my very first apt and moved in in Feb 2026. Its a brand new "luxury" building that started renting to people in oct/nov 2025 I believe. Since moving in the building has had 2 long outages of hot water - 12 hours for one and the other one is still ongoing since yesterday at 2 PM. There was another instance about 2 weeks ago of ALL water being shut off for a few hours. Twice, my shower faucet has disengaged from the wall and flew out of the wall. I didn't get injur”
“Water leaked from the ceiling and it made a little bit of a mess in the bathroom. Now the ceiling is fixed, but the tenant is saying to send him a cleaner to get the bathroom cleaned. I asked him can't you just clean it yourself, he replied no he didn't make this mess. Who is responsible for cleaning? I have no problem getting it cleaned if I'm responsible. submitted by /u/Medical_Blueberry750 [link] [comments]”
“Actually as the landlord I most certainly do get to make that decisions, go read the law some time. The only thing I cannot do is deny them the right to have the satellite service, I can most definitely tell them where they can mount the dish, and I can most certainly charge them for damaging the property and not returning it to me in the same condition that they received it. You sir have no clue what you are talking about, maybe you should go read the material supplied to you by another user th”
“apartment says there is no leak, but i simply don’t know enough. looks like water is just enough to fit around that light fixture square and come inside? pin less reader is reading 60% in those areas and i made a post earlier looking behind the baseboard. submitted by /u/tingalingalingal [link] [comments]”
“This is the tenants bill, drain pipes don't randomly clog with grease. The other problem is they didn't immediately report it and it sounds like there was a ton of extra damage due to it, so that is also the tenants problem. If your tenants have renters insurance they should cover a good portion of the bill and your tenants will need to cover the rest. Your assumption that the plumber would have checked the drains when doing the expansion tank is wrong. The water heater is on the incomin”
“I most certainly would charge them for the repair. This falls under the "no unauthorized modification of the property" portion of your lease and the "return it in the same condition" portion of a lease.”
“Hi all — looking for advice on how to properly deal with this crappy work. https://imgur.com/a/k7f1zMv We have a tenanted property where a handyman installed two aftermarket window latches at some point without our knowledge (separate issue we're dealing with — didn't catch it because we trusted the work and didn't inspect closely). We're now having them removed, and the window technician's proposed fix is to just cover the resulting holes with silicone. There are 10+ holes t”
“Right. The SharkBite isnt really the issue here. The issue is paying someone to fix a mess that and ending up with something that still looks like a mess”
“What would be a good price to charge to fix this? Including patching the wall with hydraulic cement, outside mortar cracks, add insulation and drywall? submitted by /u/RedWiggler9 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I have a steady drip coming out of my hvac unit. I let my landlord know and they’re saying that I should never be turning the unit off, just up and this will avoid any condensation… this feels wrong. Everything I’m reading indicates there’s likely a blockage in the condensate line. I don’t expect anyone to answer this without seeing my unit, but hoping someone can advise if the advice to keep it running 24/7 is BS? I grew up in a house with central air and never remember my parents keepi”
“I pay a little extra each month through my utility company to have my major appliances fixed if there's an issue by service guard. The other day I noticed my evaporator in my basement was frozen solid. I thawed it out and I looked at the filter, which was buckled from moisture dripping on it. It was dirty, but not so much that I believe it was clogged. I called my utility company and figured that this was great, I was glad I paid for the insurance. Some kid comes out today (I was at work) an”
“Please help me out. I did not realize that a piece of furniture was creating the scratches on the wood floor. I am renting this place but am moving and I really don't want to leave the floor this way for them. They are great landlords and would suck to leave it that way. Any advice or help would greatly appreciated. submitted by /u/PresentationApart904 [link] [comments]”
“I gave the builder a lumpsum amount for 5 years of maintenance but prior to the completion of those 5 years, registered society has been formed and now the society is asking for the monthly maintenance. Why should I pay the monthly maintenance prior to the completion of my 5 years from the possession date? Can someone please let me know what I can do for this? submitted by /u/__Researcher__ [link] [comments]”
“Today I went on a free second opinion homeowner had another company out for ac maintenance told her there was a crack in the heat exchanger and had to shut the system down until the furnace was fixed or replaced this is the photo they sent her submitted by /u/AMR317 [link] [comments]”
“I am having a mental breakdown about this because my house was flipped and I’ve even messaged the people who flipped it to ask what is happening and have no answers. I’ve called multiple contractors who are just telling me to put trim up but I’m not doing that because the entire wall is moving when I touch around the parts that are cracking. It’s an older home and I know around the windowsills are the original wall but the interior walls are obviously new. I just am at a loss at this point and i”
“I probably should have written this a week ago, but some things came up that I didn't know how to handle. We had substantial (clean) water damage in our home. Our insurance person gave us a couple of choices. One was to cut us a check, and then a follow-up check once all the work was done. We would be responsible for handling everything. They would also pay for the water remediation people, but weirdly three mediation people would send a bill to the insurance would send it to us and you woul”
“I own a condominium unit that has a double sided kitchen sink and no garbage disposal. Prior to removing the conditions on the sale, I had an inspection done where the inspector ran the faucet for a good while and ran the dishwasher, no issues came up. But after moving in, i immediately noticed that the drain took a while to go down. And now it would take more than an hour for a small amount of water to go down. The water will back up to the second sink I’m not using and the water will move betw”