Small Maintenance Tasks Renters Can Do Themselves
If you’re a new renter, you might not realize that while we handle the “big” stuff, there are plenty of small repairs you can—and should—take care of yourself! While we’re always happy to come out to replace a dead battery or reset a breaker, you can save time by handling many minor fixes on your own instead of submitting a maintenance request and waiting for us to arrive.
We get it—being handy doesn’t come naturally to everyone. That’s why we’ve put together a few helpful tips (with YouTube videos included) to guide you through common small repairs. Below is a short guide to things you can fix yourself—no call to us needed.
What Can Tenants Fix Themselves?
Here’s what your lease says—don’t worry, we’ll help you decode all the legal-ese:
- REPAIRS (a) While TENANT is renting the UNIT, TENANT will be responsible for small maintenance and repairs. This includes but is not limited to; changing light bulbs and fuses, reset circuit breakers, lighting pilots, maintaining smoke alarms, maintaining carbon monoxide detectors, unclogging drains, toilets and fixtures, carpet cleaning, painting, maintaining locks, changing or cleaning air/furnace filters of any type, and any damage caused by TENANT or its guests or family.
While that may sound intimidating, remember—we’re just a phone call away. If you ever feel you can’t handle a repair yourself, don’t worry—you can always call us. But after reading this guide and checking out the resources provided, you might feel confident enough to tackle many of these small fixes on your own!
Here are some of the most common repair issues that tenants can easily handle themselves:
- Changing light bulbs
- Resetting circuit breakers
- Maintaining smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors
- Changing furnace filters
- Clearing drains of small clogs
Click each link to find a quick how-to for each repair, along with a helpful YouTube video that visually walks you through the process. We hope these guides will help you feel more confident in handling small fixes and repairs yourself.
Of course, we’re always just a phone call away if you ever need assistance!