Renting your home does not always place all maintenance on the owner of your home. Per your lease (which is a standard Arizona State Lease Contract) there are numerous items that fall under Tenant Responsibility with regards to the upkeep of your rental home.
Please make sure to read over your contract and understand what your role is for home repairs as a renter in a 4:10 property is. We try to communicate clearly and often so that expectations are easy to be met and our maintenance team can be as effective as possible in setting up our vendor scheduling.
You will always use your Tenant Portal to Submit any requests for maintenance that your home needs. This satisfies the requirement to notify your landlord in writing of any issues and protects you. This can be found linked clearly at the top of our website. Always include photos and brand/model if applicable to shorten delays.
Make sure you pay attention to any Announcement Banners on your Portal any time you sign in as they often provide Important Info from property managers here at 4:10 Real Estate.
If any issue is an EMERGENCY, after you submit it online, Please also TEXT us at 480-382-0115 for Immediate Assistance from our Team.
An emergency is defined as:
You have NO running water
You have NO Electric
You have NO AC and the temps are above 90 degrees
You have NO heat and the temps are below 50 degrees
You have a safety issue affecting access to or from inside your home. Example: A broken door or window preventing you from securing your home (*Note Lost Keys will be charged a locksmith fee)
There is a fire (after calling 911)
There is a major leak or flooding (after turning the water off at the valves or main)
All other issues are considered NON-EMERGENT and will be handled by our Maintenance Team during regular business hours in the order that they were received.
Troubleshooting & Tenant Responsible Items
Prior to assigning vendors, there are numerous issues that you must try troubleshooting and report results to our team on- there are also numerous items that are “Tenant Responsibility” that will not be assigned a vendor. In these circumstances you will get a reply like this:
Based on the description of the issues provided we have determined that this falls under “Tenant Responsibilities” as described in your lease OR may be an issue that requires troubleshooting and self-remedy before we will assign a vendor.
(Lines 129-136) General Upkeep
(Lines 142-144) Replacement of Consumables
Replacing Consumables
Anything consumable in the home is a tenant responsibility to replace. This includes but is not limited to any type of filter, bulb, or battery that may be needed to make an item work properly. Here are some examples of common issues that are fixed with the replacement of a consumable (list not extensive)
Filters in:
Water or Ice dispenser in the fridge
Reverse osmosis system
HVAC filters (must be changed REGULARLY)
Pool or Spa Equipment
Batteries for:
Any type of “detector”
Security System remotes or keypads
Remotes for fans or lights
Garage or Community remotes
Electric shades or blinds
Pool Equipment
Timers (irrigation or lights)
Bulbs for: Anything that requires a bulb of any kind regardless of the type of bulb or its location is a consumable.
Please replace any consumables that are associated with your issue – if this does not resolve the issue then resubmit a new maintenance request and include proof of purchase of the consumables you replaced so we can assign a vendor to investigate the issue further
Loss of Power (sometimes)
If electrical power is unavailable in your entire house and your neighbors appear to have lost power too, call the utility company.
If any of your home’s electrical power works—receptacles or lights in another room, for example—the problem is with your home’s system. Often this is caused by an overloaded circuit. Generally, figure that the problem is an overload if it occurred when someone was using a hairdryer, electric heater, air conditioner, or some other electrical appliance that draws a lot of currents. If you recently plugged a lot of things into one particular area of the home or if there has been inclement weather that may have caused any power surges in the home.
Please check all GFCI receptacles (typically in a kitchen, bath, or outdoors), you can often solve the problem by simply pushing the reset button on the GFCI device.
Check the electrical subpanel or main panel that serves the circuit. Look to see whether one of the circuit breakers has flipped off. This may not be as obvious as it sounds. A tripped circuit breaker won’t necessarily be in the “Off” position—it might be halfway between “Off” and “On.” Turn off or unplug everything from the troubled circuit. Then reset the breaker. Turn it all the way to “Off” and then to “On.”
If neither of these steps works, please resubmit a new maintenance request and we will assign a vendor to come and investigate the source of the issue and repair.
No Hot Water (sometimes)
If you have no hot water at all, check to see if your water heater is getting gas or electric. Could there be a billing issue with your utility provider? Please check that first. If the water heater is electric – check the break box – reset the water heater circuit by sliding it to OFF and then back to On to be sure. If it is a gas water heater – sometimes, inadvertently the gas supply can be turned off or interrupted. Follow these steps:
Turn the gas control knob to PILOT
Remove the cover where your burner and the pilot light is located (at the bottom of the water heater)
There should be a flame lit inside.
If your water heater uses a pilot light but you see no flame, check to see if the instructions are printed on the tank. But if not, here’s how you relight a pilot light.
Turn the regulator to the “off” position and wait at least 5 minutes for the gas to disperse
Then, turn the regulator to “pilot”
If your water heater has the self-ignite feature, simply hold down the ignition button for about a minute, and then turn the regulator to “on”
If you need to light the pilot with a flame, use a long lighter and direct the flame near the pilot burner where the gas supply tube is located. Your pilot light should ignite.
If your pilot light does not ignite or will not stay lit resubmit your request and we will assign a vendor to investigate.
Clogged Toilet Self Remedy
95% of clogged toilets are tenant caused. The landlord is responsible for anything that is outside of the tenant’s control such as a mechanical failure or tree roots. General toilet clogs are tenant responsibility to remedy.
Please use a plunger until the clog is gone.
Tips:
If it looks like the water might overflow out of the toilet while addressing the clog then taking the lid off the tank as quickly as possible and closing the toilet flapper will stop this. The flapper releases water from the tank and into the bowl. If you’re worried that your flush has a good chance of turning into a flood, take off the top before you pull the trigger. Then you can keep one hand close to the flapper while the other hand pushes the flusher. The minute it appears the water is rising, you’re ready to stop the deluge.
Try dish soap in warm water (not boiling as that can crack the toilet) and pour it from waist height which provides some force which may help dislodge a clog- Allow it to sit- the warmth of the water sometimes helps break up the clog and the soap helps lubricate it so it can move more easily when plunging.
If you are unable to clear the clog yourself with these methods, please resubmit your maintenance request and we will assign a plumber.
Slow Tub/Shower or Sink Drain - Tenant Self Remedy
For slow-draining tubs and showers we provide tenants with self-remedy steps to try before sending out a plumber (which is rarely needed unless there is a serious plumbing issue that would typically be noticeable in other areas of the home as well) Hair, hygiene, and cooking products build-up and drains need to be flushed out frequently as part of cleaning and regular general upkeep which is tenant responsibility.
Try a Natural method first:
Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain.
Pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain. Let it settle for a few minutes.
Follow up with a cup of white vinegar and more hot water.
Leave for 5-10 minutes.
Follow up with more boiling water.
Try a commercial cleaner - any of them that is a foaming drain cleaner containing bleach and acids that dissolve hair (follow the directions) If a vendor is assigned and the issue is resolved with these techniques alone then we put that service call fee on your ledger as tenant responsible.
Garbage Disposal Troubleshoot Self Remedy
Loud Noises (like Shaking or Grinding): If your garbage disposal is making a loud humming, grinding, or rattling noise, it could be the result of a jammed grinding chamber. Food or other debris can become trapped in the chamber, resulting in the unusual noise.
Jammed Disposal or Clogged Kitchen Sink
To fix clogged or jammed garbage disposal:
Turn the garbage disposal off.
Insert the correct size hex or Allen wrench in the six-sided hole in the bottom of the garbage disposer motor.
Move the wrench back and forth to dislodge whatever it is that’s clogging it.
No Power: if you have an issue with your disposal not turning on at all- try resetting it with the reset button underneath and testing all GFI outlets and breakers to be sure a quick power reset is not the only issue.
99% of all garbage disposal issues are resolved by following the steps above. If the issues are not corrected- with these steps, please resubmit a new request. If we dispatch a vendor and the remedy ends up being one of the troubleshooting steps below, the service call fee is added to your tenant ledger. General Pest Control Most 4:10 Leases note general pest control (except bee/wasps nests, termites or gophers.) as Tenant Responsibility. Please refer to yours prior to submitting a request.
Tenant Charges for Repairs
If we progress through all troubleshooting to vendor assignments and a contractor arrives to diagnosis and repair an issue, and it is determined that the issue was, in fact, a Tenant Responsible issue that should have been remedied without vendor assignment, then any service call fee or repair charge for that work order is passed on to the tenant on your ledger.
This happens a lot with disposals, clogged toilets and drains as well we with some expensive AC repairs that are caused by lack of routinely changing the AC filters.
Tenants are always charged for damages and issues that are determined to be caused by or exacerbated by Neglect or Failure to immediately notify our team in writing of issues. Damage caused by tenants or their guests is also always charged to Tenant Ledgers.
We hope this blog helps clarify some misconceptions about tenant responsibilities for home upkeep while renting. If you have questions or concerns please always feel free to reach out to us at on our website.
Thanks!
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