Compensation for days without a shower - Landlord Forum thread 169658

Compensation for days without a shower by Habib Girgis (California) on January 17, 2009 @22:04

One of my tenants had a problem with the bathtub. The pipes coming out from the drain were rusted & old & the water was leaking to the ceiling of the lower floor. I got a plumber & he removed the tub & saw a major problem which will take about a week or more to fix everything. The tenant sent me an e-mail stating that as she is not able to shower for these days that I should deduct these days from her monthly rent. Now everyhting else in the apartment is OK so she can do everything else as sleep, food etc.. Is it fair for her to deduct the total daily rent amount because she can't have a shower?

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bath? by D-bone (aka Debbie) (IL) on January 17, 2009 @22:28

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Does the rental unit have an extra bath that has a bath tub or a shower?

I don't know....it's kind of iffy. I don't know if it's reasonable to deduct a small portion of the rent.

My thinking is that as long as your tenant have workable hot water in the unit, she can get by bathing herself in the kitchen.

As a teenager, I used to wash my long hair in the kitchen sink.

Plus, my hubby, my two young children and I washed our hair and sponged bathed in the kitchen three years ago when the twin tornadoes smashed a portion of our house (bedrooms and bath). We semi-bathed in the kitchen for almost a month. Boy, we celebrated big time when we finally had our bathrooms and bedrooms back in working order!!!

Re: bath?

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Anonymous on January 17, 2009 @22:29	[ Reply ]

No, not the total amount of the rent. The place is still completely habitable, except for the lack shower. You can offer her something much less such as a small discount on each day it is taking to repair. At least you were diligent in going after the problem for her!

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by M-bone on January 17, 2009 @22:46

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Would this be something that her renters insurance would have covered?

If that don't cover it, why should you. A not so major inconveniance doesn't warrant free place to live. How does her not paying for those days compensate for lack of shower? She will take her showers at moms, grandma, aunt, brother, friend or somebodies house, heck her kitchen sink.
Tread lightly here, this is an inconveniance, you don't want to make it out like it's no big deal. When talking to her, be reasonable and fair. What would be acceptable if you were in her shoes?
With that said, be careful not to let her say how it should be, what she offered for her inconveniance is not acceptable. If she gets away with this, what's next? What other reason will she have to prorate her rent, cut her rent, or just not pay at all?

Other than that I really don't know what would be required of the landlord in this situation. I would want to know why the plumber has to take a week to fix the problem, maybe put some fire under him or fire him and hire someone who can fix it in a day. That really is a lengthy time frame to complete this job.

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Sam Cogley on January 18, 2009 @00:53	[ Reply ]

No. Stuff happens. It is not like the home was uninhabitable. She still had a home to occupy and sleep in. In the old days people washed up by a basin or the sink if they didn't have the luxury of a shower, so NO I don't think you owe the tenant that much. I might make some fair concession for the inconvenience though. Maybe an extra large early payment discount on the next month.

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Terry (ca) on January 18, 2009 @01:16	[ Reply ]

Actually if a full week, I would give them at least a partial rent abatement. I would have offered something long before the tenant requested it though. CA requires a working bath/shower for the unit to be habitable. And they will likely have to drive somewhere to a friend or relative or motel to get at least a few showers over a week's time!

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Anonymous on January 18, 2009 @01:22	[ Reply ]

I would deduct full rent for those days. It will make her happy. I think we all want to keep our tenants relativly satisfied. If you deduct too little, she will resent it. I wouldn't deduct any if she had a second shower.

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Anonymous on January 18, 2009 @01:31	[ Reply ]

this is a tricky one, went through it myself with a tenant and we just comped them for the days without a shower; yes, someone can use a bucket and the sink but how many of us would really want to do that; if your lease does not specify anything, at least comp them half a daily rate per day (take their montly rent, divide by the number of days in the month, and then divide by 2 to come up with the amount per day); or you don't divide by 2 and comp the whole day; also, this will stand up better in court

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by P-Bone (aka Pete) (GA) on January 18, 2009 @09:14

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"The pipes coming out from the drain were rusted & old & the water was leaking to the ceiling of the lower floor."

Now we need to do the right thing. It clearly is your problem here. And you as a good landlord have taken steps to fix it. But if you have only a single bath, then you should work out some kind of discount in that month's rent. Since it is only the bathroom, you can reason with the tenant and mutually agree on a smaller discount and not the entire day.

Now another option is to upgrade an appliance, if they are in bad shape. That way the investment works to mutual benefit and you still get to keep it after the tenant moves.

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Anonymous on January 20, 2009 @10:57	[ Reply ]

I would tell her to pay the full rent and you will give her a check back for "3 days" rent for the bother. Explain she slept, ate and lived there otherwise. I never let a tenant give me anything but the "full rent" amount. I will give a check back for anything when needed.

Re: Compensation for days without a shower

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Renter (CA) on June 3, 2017 @09:47	[ Reply ]

Don't be a slumlord. The pipes are old and rusted. You could have fixed them. She's not going to be able to shower. How the hell would you like it if you couldn't shower for a week. In California legally she wouldn't have to pay rent for that week AND you would have to pay for a hotel room for her for the week.

Re: Compensation for days without a shower by Lisa (MA) on July 2, 2018 @12:49	[ Reply ]

This is crazy. Happening to my daughter now. Same thing....your state requires in tenants rights u put her in a hotel. You are lucky she is only asking for deduction on rent. Believe me it could get worse!!! She has rights!