Undoubtedly, living at any property, you can expect things to break from time to time. Do you know what is considered an emergency maintenance situation? Sometimes, it can be undeniable in situations such as a severely leaking roof causing it to rain outside and inside your home. This certainly qualifies as an emergency, and requests must be submitted quickly. Other times, it may seem unclear as to what needs urgent attention. What if your oven stops working? Or your air conditioner isn’t cooling the home? Are these emergencies? What is considered an enormous inconvenience and emergency to a resident may not be an emergency when looking at the bigger picture. But, how can you identify an emergency or not? First, it is always a good idea to pull out your lease and read maintenance requests’ verbiage. Emergency maintenance may be identified as fire, flood, uncontrollable water, backed up sewer, electrical problem endangering life, or smell of gas. None of that sounds like fun. Let us break down a few situations that may fall under an emergency.

Emergency Maintenance

A maintenance emergency is something that, if it isn’t remedied immediately, could cause injury, pose a health threat, or cause severe property damage.

A few examples of maintenance emergencies can include:

A sewer back-up if it is flooding your home
A fire that is unable to be put out with your in-home fire extinguisher
The smell of gas / broken gas line / or suspicion of a gas leak (natural gas has an identifiable smell of rotten eggs)
Your roof is leaking and causes flooding and damage to the interior of the home
A broken pipe, waterline, or flooding inside your home
Air conditioning not working in sweltering weather
Furnace not heating home in frigid weather
Other electrical issues that, if not immediately repaired, could result in lasting damage, such as a fire

Routine Maintenance

Every maintenance issue is not an emergency. For example, if you have a leak from your toilet that is minor and can be contained with a bucket or some towels, this is considered a routine maintenance issue but not an emergency. Furthermore, a small leak, while annoying, would be considered a routine maintenance request.

Here are a few examples of situations where you can submit a routine maintenance request:

Your dishwasher isn’t properly draining
The garbage disposal is buzzing
There’s no hot water
Your stove burner won’t light or heat up
You have a clogged drain
Your ceiling fan stopped working
Your refrigerator is not cooling quickly
Your HVAC system isn’t heating or cooling in weather above 50 and below 90 degrees

Troubleshooting Maintenance

Many landlords and property managers expect their tenants to troubleshoot some issues before submitting a routine maintenance request. This isn’t because your maintenance team doesn’t want to help. Sometimes, things can be easily remedied with a quick DIY and will save you and the maintenance team time to tend to larger issues.

Below you will find detailed instructions on how to mitigate small maintenance issues in your home:

1. Smoke Detector won’t work when tested: Test with approved smoke detector smoke spray and replace the battery.

2. Smoke Detector beeps: Replace the battery and check for proper wire termination connection.

3. No power to plugs or switches: Check and reset breaker panel or replace blown fuses. Check and rest all GFI outlets (located in the kitchen, bathrooms, utility rooms, and garages). Check if the plug works off a wall switch.

4. Garbage disposal doesn’t work: When on, do you hear a buzz? If you do not hear a buzz, hit the reset button on the bottom of the disposal and test. If you hear a buzz, turn off the disposal and unplug it from the wall. Mounted on the side of the disposal or side of the cabinet is an Allen wrench. Put the wrench in the center shaft and twist back and forth (this un-jams the disposal). Remove the object, turn it back on, and test. Repeat until the object is removed.

5. No hot water: Check the thermostat on the tank for proper temperature setting. Check that thermostat is not set to “vacation.” Check and reset the breaker in the power panel. Check and reset the button next to the thermostat.

6. Hot water is too hot: Check the thermostat on the tank and turn it down.

7. Plumbing or fixtures leak: Turn off the water fixture, turn off the water at the supply line and notify Landlord immediately.

8. Toilet is plugged: Plunge and test.

9. No heat: Check the thermostat. Check that furnace covers are in properly. Check that a switch that looks like an ordinary light switch is turned on (located in or near the furnace room). Did you pay or disconnect the utility? Clean and replace filter and test.

10. Dishwasher won’t drain clean food out of the bottom of the dishwasher.

11. Dishwasher grinds or no water is coming in. Turn off; if there is no water on the bottom, pour two large glasses of water into the bottom and re-start. If the problem continues, call Landlord and discontinue use.

12. Refrigerator too warm or too cold: Check thermostat in the refrigerator is set correctly.

13. Water drips from the freezer to the refrigerator compartment. Remove all food and store it in a cooler. Turn off the refrigerator and allow it to defrost. Turn the refrigerator back on and replace food.

14. No Air Conditioning: Check all circuit breakers. Clean and replace filter and test.

Filing a Maintenance Request

Do not avoid maintenance requests! Although, some tenants feel as though they don’t want to bother their property manager with maintenance requests, so they don’t notify anyone. Any maintenance request that the property management team is responsible for should be filed as soon as possible. Further, if you fail to submit a maintenance request and the issue has escalated, resulting in damage to the property, you may be held responsible for any damages for neglecting to turn it in. A small issue now could turn into an emergency if it isn’t handled properly.

Additionally, if you have noticed an issue but are unsure of how to proceed, reach out to your property manager! Likewise, they will be glad to hear from you and can direct you toward a solution or suggestion. Your property manager will be able to explain if your issue is considered an emergency or routine maintenance.

Furthermore, if your property manager utilizes online maintenance requests, be certain to familiarize yourself with the platform. Undoubtedly, knowing how to submit a request will make your life less stressful should a maintenance issue arise.

At RentWise Property Management, we promise that we make every effort to act in our client’s best interests in every situation.

Interested in learning more about our services and how we can provide you with this type of service? RentWise Property Management. Less Hassle. More Happy.

Every state has laws when it comes to Landlord and Tenant guidelines.

States require particular things from the lease to the cost of rent and how the owner can raise it, to the repairs. As a landlord, some things are strictly their responsibility to do for repairs, and then there are things as a tenant that fall to them to fix. In this blog, we will go over things that are specific to the state of Idaho. However, nothing on this page should be taken as legal advice. You should always consult with your lease, lawyer, or property manager for questions and concerns regarding your property or your current lease situation. Also, please note that in Idaho, landlord and tenant rights are slightly different for mobile home parks and condominiums.

In the state of Idaho, Landlord repairs are pretty specific for minimums.

Idaho law mandates that landlords must ensure residential properties they rent meet certain conditions. The owner (landlord) must maintain the good working order of all electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, or bathrooms supplied to the tenant. So repairs to air conditioning units, replacing parts to your heater such as a heating element are done at the owner’s expense. Other items would also be repairs to the hot water tank, repairing any plumbing under sinks or behind walls. You will find that some rules file under these repairs. Make sure you check your lease and understand what you could do to shift the landlord’s responsibility to yourself, the tenant.

Examples of this could be damage to any parts of a water heater due to the tank being emptied and left emptied. Damage to the air conditioning unit due to irregular filter changing. Damage to toilets/sinks due to obstruction with anything that the plumbing system is not designed for. Smoke detectors that are up to code are also the responsibility of the owner as well. However, changing the batteries to the units falls under the tenant unless the property is vacant. Remember, check your lease for property specifics.

Other top Idaho landlord repairs for rental homes you will find would be the repair of roofs. Any leaks, holes, or roof damage must and should be reported immediately to your landlord in writing. If you are renting from a property management company, should be reported immediately to them. Electrical outlets you find that does not work and require a professional to check also must be notified. By Idaho law, landlords are responsible for maintaining their tenant’s safety and health. Items like exposed wires, insect infestation such as termites.

Know the following….

It is essential to know that you must request these repairs in writing as a tenant. Once the landlord receives written notice of the required repairs needed, they have three (3) days to address the issue(s). Here is where renting through a property manager comes in handy. After all, they are working to keep both the tenant and landlord’s best interests in hand. Learn how RentWise Property Management manages maintenance requests here. Also, please note under no circumstances under Idaho law can you withhold your rent until repairs are done. Failing to make rent in full and on time, you run the risk of being evicted no matter the reasons.

If you are an owner and would like to learn more about frequently asked questions, get those HERE.

If you are a renter or looking to rent a home in the Treasure Valley and want more information contact us today!

What is a Maintenance Emergency? | Your Guide to Identifying Emergency vs Routine Maintenance Requests