DIY Operations By Tenants is A Bad Idea
Sometimes when a landlord rents out to relatives or friends or becomes really friendly with the tenants, he may get carried away and say yes to requests like, “Can I make a moderate change in the bathroom fixtures?” or “Can I work on the attic vents a little?”
“Landlord could not say NO”
Now these are among the cases when the landlord hardly assumes something can go amiss. He is only happy with the intent of the tenant. To add, he does not mind a tenant taking up a maintenance or a renovation measure (apparently, it saves him money) and lastly, but just as strong a point – the landlord cannot say NO. After all, the person requesting for the favour is a family member or a tenant he has really warmed up to.
So how do such DIY operations really go? Terribly I must confess with exceptions few and far between. How do you expect them to go anyways? Unless the tenant is himself a certified plumber or an electrician or a home designer or a renovation specialist, you cannot expect him to make good the structural or cosmetic deficits of your home.
Tenants are not professionals in renovation
Yes, tenants may feel that if DIY can work so well in the television shows it can work in real life too- at least half as well. The counter-argument is that reality does not give you a second chance. If you blow up a shower head and its adjacent wall collapses on you or becomes a centrifuge for fast-collecting water, you cannot make it good. Not with the expertise (lack of it) at your disposal!
Load bearing wall demolished- Kaboom!
I had this friend of mine who rented out his home to a few really good people. Their only downside was that they believed a wee bit too much in their renovating abilities. My friend gave them permission to make a few minor cosmetic changes to the kitchen. Next thing he heard, a load-bearing wall had been demolished and a fuming property manager was at wars with the tenants involved.
Things can go just as wrong and more!
Can you relate a similar story where your tenants cost you big?
