Require Residents to Report Maintenance Problems

Most residents are good about reporting maintenance problems. Some owners and managers may say that they’re too good. But there are residents who don’t report maintenance problems. Perhaps these residents are too busy or don’t want members of your maintenance staff in their units. But residents’ failure to report maintenance problems could result in severe damage to your site and harm to residents.

For example, failure to report a leaking dishwasher could result in flooding of the resident’s unit and the units below. Or failure to report a broken unit door lock could result in the resident’s burglary. And even though the resident’s failure to report the maintenance problem causes the damage or theft, the resident will probably sue you if his property is ruined or stolen, or if he’s injured.

Therefore, it’s important to adopt house rules that require residents to immediately notify management of maintenance problems in their units and in common areas. We’ll give you Model House Rules: Inform Residents of Obligation to Report Maintenance Problems that you can adapt and use at your site.

Benefits of House Rules

House rules are the owner’s written and displayed policies outlining the residents’ responsibilities. Owners aren’t required to develop house rules, but if house rules are in place, an entire copy of the rules must be attached to the lease and maintained in the tenant’s file. House rules establish normal conduct for residents at the site and provide the rules for areas of mutual interest such as safety, noise, pest management, security, and trash disposal.

House rules spelling out residents’ responsibilities with regard to reporting maintenance problems can benefit you in several ways. They can serve to:

• Inform residents that their failure to report maintenance problems could lead to more serious problems;
• Motivate residents to promptly report maintenance problems to you; and
• Provide you with at least a partial defense in the event a resident sues you for property damage or injury that occurs as a result of her failure to report a maintenance problem.

For example, if a resident was assaulted in her unit because an intruder entered through a window that had an obviously broken lock, the resident will probably sue you for negligence. But if the resident testifies that she knew about the broken lock but failed to report it to you, as required by your site’s house rules, you may have at least a partial defense to the lawsuit.

Implementing New House Rules

House rules in general must be consistent with the HUD model lease, any applicable use agreement, and in accordance with residents’ rights under federal, state, and local law. As with any new house rule you create, you should notify residents of the new rule and attach a copy of the rule to your letter. Owners must give residents written notice 30 days before implementing new house rules [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 6-9(B)(5)]. In addition, house rules are listed in the lease as an attachment and must be attached to the lease [HUD Handbook 4350.3, par. 6-9(B)(4)].

It’s a good idea to also send a copy of the new house rules to your contract administrator and/or local HUD office and explain that you’ll be implementing the rules in 30 days. Even though HUD approval isn’t required for house rules, your contract administrator or HUD can make you stop using house rules it considers unreasonable. By sending a copy of the house rules before you implement them, you make it harder for HUD or your contract administrator to later say that the house rules were unreasonable.

What House Rules Should Say

Your house rules, like ours, should say the following:

Residents must report maintenance problems in writing. Our house rules require residents to immediately report the following problems in writing: broken fixtures, appliances, and heating or cooling equipment; water leaks; electrical or plumbing problems; or problems with lights, locks, or latches found in their unit or in the common area.

Remember that requiring residents to report maintenance problems in writing puts a burden on you to address the problems immediately. A written maintenance request that goes unanswered can be strong evidence against you in court. Consequently, make sure your staff responds to all maintenance requests.

Written notice not required for emergencies. In the event of a maintenance emergency, residents can dispense with the written notice requirement and report the problem in the quickest manner possible.

Residents are liable for damage resulting from failure to report problems. You should say that residents may be liable to you for any damage to your site that results from their failure to report a maintenance problem. Also say that they may be liable for damage to their property or injury to themselves resulting from their failure to report a maintenance problem.