the tenants in my rental house accidentally hit the picture window facing the street and one of the panes is cracked. Should they pay for the window or replace just the cracked pane (of a 3 pane window).The Window Company I used a few years ago doesn't do repairs, said a replacement pane may differ in color from the rest of the window because of age and other. I got 3 estimates from the tenants and I have to decide if I want to replace the pane or the entire window because I plan to sell the house early Spring and I don't want to have problems. They have a month to month but I want to give them notice to leave by year end. I am out of state landlord. State Specific Question About: WASHINGTON (WA)

If you are worried about the pane matching, replace the entire window but only charge the tenant the cost of replacing the glass in the broken pane.

Well, first of all, congratulations that tenants are owning up to it and cooperating!

My thought is to replace whole window, but charge tenants for what a repair would cost. My reasoning- if you were continuing on as a rental, I’d advise to just do the repair, but, assuming the home would be sold to an owner occupant , and that front window is important. Charging tenants the full cost might lead to uncooperative tenants as you move them out. Though, they might be anyway, as finding another place seems very tight right now.

On my rentals, when I had window replacement done, I got rid of the large picture windows, instead had three identical double-hungs put in. Still gives tenants day light ,increases ability to ventilate ( no fixed panes) and most importantly for tenants, if a window is broken, it’s smaller, more affordable repair.

I'm with Alley on this one. Unless you have windows with the "antique" look--- glass panes are equal.

If you really feel like it =-- replace the other 2 panes so it's like the one the tenant is having replaced.

As long as we are talking about a single piece of glass, not insulated with some type of gas between panes, I would be surprised if you could see any difference unless they use a different thickness or type such as polycarbonate or tempered. I'm not sure I believe the glass company about the pane looking different than the others.

Lap,

I used to be in the glass biz.

Yes the type of glass, tempering, layers, thickness, etc can vary ever so SLIGHTLY.

Talk to those estimates and have the winning contractor supply a sample to compare in sunlight before approval.

Don’t give in. THEY broke it and must pay to restore it.

YOU manage the repair so you get what you want. They pay you.

My friend drives a Rolls Royce. The mechanic dripped brake fluid on the bonnet (hood). Made a 1 inch bubble. Due to age and fade the color could not be touched up. Had to repaint the entire bonnet. Costly, yes, but any other repair would have devalued the car.

If each res leaves a mark on the home over the years the value of your investment will be reduced.

In Los Angeles an landlord can not charge a tenant for their labor to fix something, only the material costs. My tenant broke a single pane window and I asked him to pay $20 for the replacement glass. He refused. So I replaced the glass and deducted $60 for my time, labor and materials. I deducted it from his deposit. In court the Judge knocked down my deposit deduction for the the window back to the Glass Cost of $20.