so this came up in another discussion and it seems many LL here make the tenant responsible for toilet clogs. Okay , thats fine but it seems it go farther , and say that tenant need to unclog?

So that is where my concern is. I know we all say in our lease "tenant responsible for doing A B C" and "tenant must refrain from doing X Y Z". But if it's a repair like getting a drain unclogged, do you trust tenant to do properly? What do you do if the tenant tries using a plunger but it is still clogged? For example, one tenant dropped small scissors into toilet while flushing. I suspected it was wedged somewhere, so I pulled the toilet and indeed it was wedged at the base of the toilet, and it would have been a major problem if it was dislodged and got stuck in the drain somewhere.

another example: while cleaning during a vacancy, my helper was pouring a bucket of dirty water into the toilet , but didn't realize a rag was still in the bucket. The large amount of water caused the toilet to flush by itself and the rag got stuck in the cast iron drain.

The 6' toilet auger wasn't long enough to reach it, but thankfully after pulling the toilet, it was just long enough to grab the rag.

I agree with you!

I make it a point to tell my tenants to let me know if a toilet or sink is clogged, let me know, and I'll be happy to take care of it.

I don't think most people know how to use a plunger effectively, and when it doesn't work, they start doing things like flushing the toilet again and overflowing it, or dumping drano in the sink or toilet.

Uncle Joe makes most of the fixes

David,

I am a California licensed plumbing contractor with over 100 tenants and toilets. There are several reasons why a toilet can back up, none of those reasons are any good!

It does not mater, at first, who caused the back-up! The possible damages far out way any service call charged by a plumber, handyman or manager.

Here is my reasoning:

Imagine a tenant in a property flushes a Paper Towel, A supposed Flushable Wipe, a Tampon or large wad of thick Toilet Paper. This can happen in a house with two bathrooms or an apartment property with only 10 toilets. It's not if this will happen but when!

Sewer drain pipes under a structure are mostly METAL that transitions outside the structure to a sectional clay drain pipe. Metal pipes over time can develop sharp edges and restricted lining. Sectional clay pipe will shift under the earth causing their seams of leak Water and Attract Roots. Roots will grow into the drain line and start to restrict flow.

Any object, even a simple sheet of paper towel can block the flow of water Causing a Major Back up.

Did you know that if anyone flushes a Toilet While The Sewer Line has a Clog, the back-up will cause the toilet to continue cycle -- Flapper (Stopper) Won't seal and the fill valve will continue to add water to the Tank! The Bowl will continue to over fill and spill onto the floor!

Most tenants will take a Wizz in their bathroom before heading to work. They will flush a toilet and Leave before making sure the toilet tank has filled and shuts off.

As a plumber doing over 25,000 repairs/jobs and having 1000's of tenant over the years has seen what a toilet over flowing can cause.

In the best case a tenant underneath a flooding toilet will notice water falling thru the ceiling light or fan box and will alert a manager or owner and gets the water turned off within 15 minutes. The damage, floor, ceiling and walls -- after demolition, remediation and repairs--$ 500 to $5000.

A toilet left unchecked that is over filling for 6 hours, Damage, repairs, remediation and lost rent -- figure $10,000 to $30,000.

So if you want a tenant to take are of a faulty stopper or maybe just a slow running drain themselves, expect it may cost you tenants, damage, an insurance deductible (If covered over half of the time) and your sanity/health.

So is a $100 handyman or a $200 plumber service worth the possible risk of a flood and loosing up to $30,000? Anyone can do the math and know the savings isn't worth the risk.

I wanted to check a vacant apartment for a friend to make sure each outlet was wired correctly with a ground. The owner refused the $35 surcharge. The past owner of that property did his own electrical work. A new tenant moved in. The wife rest he hand on the kitchen table while taking something out of the refrigerator. The outlet was wired wrong and the tenant got shocked. She was in her early stages of pregnancy and somehow lost the baby. The owner lost his property, court case and ended up getting divorced -- costing him half of everything. 3 million. $35 vo $3M!

We run a business have have to make Steller decisions. 100% of the rent is NOT TO GO INTO OUR POCKETS! At least 5% to 10% is to insure we protect our property from deterioration and preventative maintenance.

Training at move in:

The three Ps - Pee, Poo and Paper only

If the tenant can't unclog it or damages something trying to unclog it, my handyman fixes it and the tenant pays for the service call and repairs.

I'm a land lord...got into this biz to make money. Grabbing dirty rags marinated in tenant urine/feces/schmutz was not on the list for why I got into this. For several years, I did it anyway until I rethought the whole process and said, "Never again!"

Since then, my profits have gone way UP and my stress has gone way DOWN.

Btw, you can sometimes figure out which tenants are likely to be problems during screening. Folks who move frequently that don't have jobs that require relocation. Hint: the LLs are kicking them out because they're house wreckers costing them money each month with their constant inability to perform basic household maintenance.

Also, look for cat litter boxes in or near the bathroom when you do the 2-minute in home inspection. If it's close, odds are they flush the kitty litter. If in doubt, ask.

Side note: I've lived in 3 different houses over the past 20 years. Never once did I have to hire a plumber to unclog my toilet. I did have a few words with my teenage sons on occasions after having to seize the plunger and go nuts on particularly bad clog.... *wink This to say, if your tenant is clogging the toilet to the point a plumber is required more than once during a 3-4 year tenancy....it's time to move 'em along. Non-renewal is the easiest way. If you don't do it early on, expect a $500 unclog and overflow bill when the line gets filled with toys and tampons.

My tenants are permitted to try a plunger ONLY. No snake. No drain cleaner. If the clog is tenant caused I send my plumber and they pay him.

Otherwise you get things like this: I need a new toilet. Why? Cosmetic reasons. How so, toilet is only a couple years old, new when you moved in.

Yes, I know but I painted it and now realize that was a mistake. Painted the bowl? Yes. Why would you do that. Because we had a clog, tried to snake it and scratched the bowl all up so I tried to make it look better.

I forbid the changing of fluorescent type light fixtures, anything that is not a basic light bulb. We do that and as I tell them “The cover/globe is fragile so I’d rather be mad at myself for damaging it than to make you pay for damaging it.”

David,