Landlord Refuses To Fix A Leaky Faucet, So Tenant’s Water Bill Keeps Getting More Expensive
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Imagine renting business space from a landlord who is supposed to fix any repairs related to plumbing, roofing, etc. What would you do if he refused to fix a leaky faucet? Would you fix it yourself or let it continue to drip?
In this story, one business owner is in this situation, and he decides to let the faucet drip out of spit.
This is definitely not the first time the landlord has refused to fix something, and the landlord is only hurting himself with this issue.
Let’s read all about it.
Landlord refuses to make repairs…
I own a small business, and have been renting a unit in a complex for about a decade.
A few years ago the long time owner of the complex sold the property to a new group.
Initially, they made some nice improvements to the property, updating signage, repaving the parking lot, painting the facade and some other cosmetic work.
The terms of my original lease were that the owner of the property handled all repairs to vital infrastructure (plumbing, roofing, etc) The previous owner thought that should be his responsibility since it was his property at the end of the day.
This landlord doesn’t seem eager to help with repairs.
During the course of some of the renovations, the power to my A/C unit was cut. I didn’t realize it as it was winter time when the repairs happened. I run a business where we don’t need the heat, and I only run the A/C in the late spring through summer. So there’s literally a few months where we’re not using the HVAC at all.
I called my property manager, and he proceeded to tell me it wasn’t their problem, and that the terms of our lease were now NNN.
Luckily it was just an issue with the outlet; and I was able to switch the plug with no issues or additional cost to me.
There have been a few other issues that the management refused to address that have been mildly infuriating, namely their repeated insistence that we have a triple net lease.
There was another problem.
A few months later, we had a water leak. The valve to toilet had failed.
Once again the landlord tried to tell me it was my issue, but I fought back this time and produced a copy of my lease that clearly stated that all water related issues are management’s problem. I don’t pay for water or gas utility, and it’s included in my rent.
This is going to be important later.
Begrudgingly, he sent a plumber to repair the toilet.
But he refused to fix another problem.
While he was here, I mentioned that our utility sink was also dripping, and he should have the plumber look at it.
He declined to do so.
The drippy faucet has turned into a pretty steady stream.
We tried turning the water off at the valves, but the old gate valves have so much calcium build up, they still won’t close all the way.
The water bill is really adding up!
I have mentioned it to our landlord repeatedly, and still no repair.
It’s been about a year; and the faucet continues to consistently run.
My dad was a plumber for awhile, and I’m perfectly capable of fixing the issue, but out of spite, I refuse to.
I had small leak at my house once, and it drove my bill almost $100 for the month over normal. I figure at least $1000 in water has literally gone down the drain, not to mention, the water is also being heated by the gas water heater.
If the landlord refuses to fix the problem, he can pay the bill, literally.
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Let’s see how Reddit responded.
These are all great words to describe the landlord.
This is a good question.
One person thinks it’s time to move.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who can’t complete her work-from-home duties because her mom’s houseguest won’t stop talking.
Another person suggests a side hustle.
I don’t know that they could really bottle the water and sell it, but maybe they could use it to water plants or something.
It is too bad to waste the water, but the landlord deserves the extra expensive water bill. It would’ve cost him a lot less just to repair the faucet.
Some people are really bad at making good decisions.
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