Rental Property User Manual

There are some simple maintenance tasks that tenants must perform to help resolve minor issues before making an appointment for service.

Tenants are typically responsible for ensuring their property stays sanitary, clean and in good repair. Your lease requires you to take the first steps to deal with any maintenance problems. This guide will help you understand some simple troubleshooting steps that will make this a lot easier.

Below are some troubleshooting guidelines to help you resolve common issues you encounter while renting with us. If you continue to have a problem, please feel free to submit a maintenance request on our portal. Be sure to include a photograph of the problem.

Know your House

Be sure you know how to operate the gas shut off, water shut off and electric panel main shutoff switch.

Winter preparations

Freezing pipes can be a big problem in the winter time. Take these steps as winter approaches to help make sure you don’t have problems.

  • Detach hoses from outside faucets.
  • On older houses, the outside faucet may need to be shut off entirely. Look for a valve in the basement near the faucet.
  • Look for water pipes in the garage. Monitor the temperature in the garage to be sure they don’t freeze.
  • If the low temperature is below 20F, leave sink cabinet doors open and let the faucets drip overnight.
  • If you leave the house for more than 24 hours (or the gas or electric gets shut off), shut off the water, drain the water pipes by opening a faucet in the basement, open cabinet doors, make sure the thermostat is set above 60

Alarms

If your smoke or CO detectors are going off with a consistent alarm, call 911 immediately.

Smoke Alarm: If the smoke alarm is beeping intermittently, this means the battery needs changing. Please replace the smoke alarm battery with a brand-new battery. If the problem persists, please notify us immediately.

Security Alarm: If you come home and the alarm is either flashing or beeping, this may mean there was a power surge to the property. Disarm your alarm and wait 20 seconds, then recode the alarm. This should stop the flashing and beeping. If the beeping is still going, then the battery needs replacing.

Furnace and Air Conditioner

  • Check that the batteries in the thermostat are working. Does the display panel work OK? If not, change the battery.
  • Check that the switch next to the furnace is on.
  • Check that the pilot light is lit.
  • Check that the furnace cover is fitting securely
  • Check that the circuit breaker is on
  • It is tenants responsibility to change the filter 4 times a year.
  • Do not set the air-conditioning abnormally low. Anything below 20 degrees lower than the outside temperature may cause the unit to freeze up and become much less efficient. If the fan is running but the air is not very cold, set the heat/cool off and fan continuous for eight hours and let it thaw out.
  • The heat must be on all winter.
  • If you go on an extended vacation, please review the winter preparations above.
  • The outdoor unit must be cleaned occasionally for best performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKYMTGL_9Fo

Faulty Switches or Fans: 

Do not attempt to fix or use switches or outlets that are mal-functioning. Try to locate the circuit breaker for that device and turn it off. Please submit maintenance request.

Electric Garage Door Not Opening: 

The remote may need new batteries; if new batteries do not fix the issue, the remote may need reprogramming. Google the model number of your garage door opener to learn how to do this. If the garage door is not opening by remote or button on the wall this may mean the property has had a power surge. You will need to re-set the door or exit/enter the garage manually. To re-set the garage door:

• Go to the breaker box and turn all switches to the OFF position

• Flip all the breaker switches back ON

• Try the button on the wall or the remote, this should get the door to open

To open the door manually, convert the garage from automatic to manual by using the pulley above the light. Push the door up whilst in manual position.

No Power

Most often, loss of power to a concentrated area of the home is due to a tripped GFCI or breaker. No Lights and Power Points: First, does a light bulb need replacing? Light bulbs are tenant responsibility to replace. If not, check that a GFCI outlet has not been tripped. Press the RESET button on any nearby GFCI outlets (they may be in the next room). 

  • Check you fuse box for tripped breaker switch. If there has been an overload, the safety switch may need re-setting. A tripped breaker is not always obvious. Often the switch doesn’t throw all the way to the off position. If you run your fingers down the line of breakers, you may feel a tripped breaker before you see it.
  • Reset the breaker by moving it to the full “off” position and then back to “on.”
  • Check appliances. Unplug all of them in the unit. Reset breaker, plug in one appliance at a time to find the faulty appliance.
  • Contact your power company to inquire if there are power outages in your neighborhood.

No Hot Water

  • Check to see if hot water tank is leaking
  • Check fuse box for tripped breaker switch
  • If it’s a gas water heater, check to see if pilot light is out, if you can’t turn it on, call your gas provider for instructions.
  • https://youtu.be/-f5ev1lQVJc Basic electrical troubleshooting

Garbage Disposal Not Working

  • Reset the safety switch underneath the bottom of disposal unit in sink cabinet.
  • Check for blockage in the sink around the blades. Before putting your hands or utensil down the sink, make sure the unit is turned off. ** Never put these items down the disposal: chicken bones, onion peels, potato skins, and corn husk! **
  • https://youtu.be/lhyNhgHldrs How to Un-Jam a garbage disposal

Clogged or Slow Sink (without using harsh chemical drain cleaners)

  • Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain, pour in ½ cup baking soda. Let it sit for a few minutes. Then pour a mixture of 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup hot water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Flush one more time with pot of boiling water
  • https://youtu.be/4u0sMRKb0NY How to unclog a kitchen sink using baking soda and vinegar
  • Sink drains are easy to dis-assemble and clean. The plastic ones can be unscrewed by hand allowing you to remove and clean out the p-trap. Be sure to have a bucket and towels handy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3USfrjDcLhY

For clogged bathtub and shower drains

  • Pour boiling water down the drain to unclog hair and soap build-up. A plunger will also help clear easy blockages from bits and pieces. 

Clogged Toilet

  • Use a plunger with short, quick motions. It is the suction created pulling up that is most effective in clearing a clog. You may need rubber gloves; it can get messy!
  • Pour bucket of water to clear out

Water Leaks

  • Turn off the water. There is probably a valve near the sink or toilet. If that doesn’t stop the leak, turn off the main water line.
  • If water is leaking from a sink drain, its often because it is clogged. See the section on clogs.
  • Be sure to detach hoses from outside faucets in the winter. If you don’t, that faucet will probably freeze and leak when you use it next summer. For this reason, the cost to repair outside faucets are always tenant responsibility.
  • Water leaks can be expensive to repair. Be sure to get help if you can’t get it to stop.

Sewer Backup

The lowest drain in the house is often the basement floor drain. If Sewer is coming out of this drain, you probably have a clog between the house and the street. You should immediately stop using the water. Call a plumber right away. This usually costs $100 or so for a main line clean-out. This cost is usually the tenant responsibility as it usually backs up because you have put things down the drain that don’t belong there. You should never put grease, paper towels, trash, kitty litter or anything but toilet paper down the drains.

Sometimes, there is a systemic problem like tree roots or city sewer problems. In these situations, we will reimburse the $100 main-line clean-out and pay up to $140 for camera and locate.

Washing Machine Not Working Properly or Not at All

  • Check whether the washing machine taps are turned on at the wall.
  • Check if appliance at the wall is turned on.
  • Check if lid is closing properly.
  • Check if settings knob is pointed directly on the desired settings
  • If the machine has stopped halfway through cycle you may have overloaded the machine and caused it to be out of balance. Try redistributing the wash evenly in the drum.
  • Don’t overload the machine
  • ONLY use laundry detergent NEVER use dishwashing detergent
  • https://youtu.be/_a87KTHws2M Troubleshooting common washing machine problems

Dryer is Not Working

  • Dryer can automatically shut down due to overload of lint in the filter Check whether the filter needs to be cleaned out. Remember to always clean the filter out. *Failure to clean the dryer is the leading cause of dryer fires. 2,900 home clothes dryer fires are reported each year and caused deaths, injuries, and millions of dollars in property loss*

Refrigerator Not Staying Cool or Freezing

  • Check the thermostat to make sure it hasn’t been turned way down by mistake.
  • Be sure the vents on the back of the freezer compartment aren’t blocked by boxes of ice cream or frozen food packages-the vents have to be clear for cold air to circulate.
  • Vacuum the coils under or behind the fridge. Clogged coils can cause poor cooling
  • Clean the seals around the refrigerator doors to keep cool air from escaping

https://youtu.be/1z_SNB95OE8  How to defrost your fridge