Dear Landlord Hank: Upstairs Tenant Children in Bathtub Splashing Water into Downstairs Unit, What Should We Do?

Keeping tenants happy and living together is always a priority for landlords so this week a landlord asks about children, tenants and the bathtub. Each week veteran landlord and property manager Hank Rossi answers questions from other landlords and property managers around the country about their rentals.

Dear Landlord Hank:

When the upstairs tenant’s children play in the bathtub it sometimes sends water into the unit below. The downstairs tenant has asked the upstairs tenant about it, but no luck so far. What should we do?

-Landlord Sam

Dear Landlord Sam:

Get on this right away. The upstairs tenant is causing damage to your property and could be setting up a situation for mold growth under the flooded bathroom and into the downstairs neighbor’s ceiling and walls.

There should be a section of your lease devoted to “Maintenance/inspection” that spells out clearly that if tenant causes any damage to the premises, the tenant is responsible for repairing this damage.

I would have a long talk with the upstairs tenant and tell them that water spilling from the bathtub, from the actions of their children, is causing damage to your property, and to make SURE this doesn’t happen again.

The bathtub is not a pool and children should not be left unattended if they are careless. Tell the tenants you’d like them to stay but you can’t have your property compromised. There is no good reason for this to continue.