Hi all,
I have an investment property where there is ongoing water leak defects due to shoddy workmanship by the builder. I currently have tenants in the property since Nov 2012
when the water leaks began.
I thought it might be a good idea to send the tenants a thank gift lf appreciation for staying on in the property even though they have been considerably inconvenienced by water leaks in the apartment. Rectification will begin in the next couple of months.
Before proceeding I decided to ask my current property manager if there were any legalities that I needed to be aware of before going ahead with my idea.
To my surprise my property manager advised against the idea warning against possible admission to the defects and further encouraging tenants to seek further compensation. I currently compensate my tenants $108 a month for the inconvenience caused by the water leaks.
I would like to know if anyone has any advise or first hand experience with being proactive in showing gratitude towards their tenants during such circumstances.
Thank you.
Elenor
Isn't the Agent's fears similar to the argument against saying 'sorry' to the stolen generation?? That any action that in any way relates to acknowledging reality puts you at a legal disadvantage?
Personally I think almost everyone appreciates you being nice to them, and I cant see how a bottle of wine and a card would harm your standing as a landlord. Your tenants are obviously aware of the water leaks, and they've stayed on in the place, and you're already reducing their rent. You cant possibly get any more of an admission to the defects can you?
The only proactive gratitude I've shown is installing ceiling fans at the tenants request (a pensioner). However I did subsequently increase the rent :/ (In my defence it had been below market rates for a while).
Hey Arnulf thanks for your reply. Yeah I did have a good hard think about it and I have decided to send my tenants a nice bottle of wine and card to just simply say thank you for being good tenants. I don't think that anything else needs to be said as like you say, its pretty obvious what is going on in the apartments.
Cheers.