If the appliances in your Gallatin rental home are out-of-date or aren’t working properly, you may be thinking about asking your landlord to replace them. While you may feel that you have good reasons to ask for new appliances, there are both right and wrong ways to go about it. Before you call or send an email to your landlord with your request, it is necessary to do some preparation first. By following a few useful tips, you can craft a request that your landlord will have a hard time saying no to.
Check Your Lease
Before asking your landlord for new appliances, you must first re-read your lease documents. Although the appliance may have come with the house, your lease may specify that your landlord is under no obligation to repair or replace them. Other leases put that responsibility on the tenant. Regardless of whether your lease states that your landlord isn’t contractually required to replace faulty appliances, you can still ask. You will need to tailor your argument with your specific situation in mind.
Check State Law
Landlord-tenant laws differ from state to state. In a few states, the law requires a landlord to keep all of the appliances in good working order – it doesn’t matter what the lease says. If you exist in such a state, you can use this relevant data to help you persuade your landlord to replace a broken appliance. Even though your state does not even have a requirement, it is a good idea to have a good working understanding of what the law does and doesn’t cover so that you can use that in your request.
Explain the Benefits – and the Costs
As you prepare to draft your request, take some time to develop all the reasons why your landlord should replace an old or broken appliance. Try to look at the situation from your landlord’s perspective and explain how new appliances will not only give an advantage to you but also offer benefits to your landlord. New appliances often require much less repair than older ones, which means you can save your landlord time and money in the long run. They are also more energy-efficient and may have rebates your landlord can use to save money. You can also include that new appliances will help your landlord find new tenants more easily after moving out.
Never forget to mention your careful observation of the lease terms, your on-time rent payments, and so on. Besides, it’s important to explain all of the ways that you, the good tenant, have been negatively impacted by the malfunctioning appliance(s). From high utility bills to spoiled food, specify any risks that broken appliances pose to your health and budget. If your landlord understands how unhappy you are with the situation, that might motivate them to agree to your requests.
Offer to Help
Most landlords are busy and have no time to allocate to any one tenant. Make granting your request for new appliances easy by sending along some research on good quality brands and deals on new appliances in your area. You can also offer to help remove and set up the new appliance if you have the skills needed to do so. By approaching your landlord with good information and offers to help, you can give them many valid reasons to say yes.
Keep It Reasonable
If you’ve mailed your best arguments and your landlord still refuses to replace the appliances or perhaps claims that they can’t afford to do so, there’s one last option you can try. If possible, offer to pay for half of the appliance yourself, especially if you expect to stay in the rental home for an extended period. If your landlord takes you up on your suggestion, be sure to get all of the details in writing, including the appliance’s total cost. Seek for an appliance that is both reasonably priced and good quality – going too extravagant may cause your agreement to end before you get the appliance you want. After all, having an opportunity to recommend a brand and a good bargain at a local store may encourage your landlord to agree to your request.
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