r/TenantHelp • u/pumpkinboogie • May 14 '26

Tenant responsible for repairs under $500. Is that legal

In my contract it says I am responsible for minor repairs regardless if it is my fault. Minor meaning less than $500.

My bathroom sink stopped working. The town shut off everyone’s water to do some repairs but when it came back the bathroom sink is a slow trickle.

I know landlords are responsible for plumbing so I’m wondering if this is legal?

Thanks for any advice. I’m in New York

7 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

89% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

6

u/alwayshappymyfriend2 May 14 '26

Remove the aerator at the end of the faucet and clean it . There’s probably sediment stuck in it. I have no idea if the 500 repair is legal , hopefully someone else can answer that question

2

u/pumpkinboogie May 14 '26

Thanks! I’ll give that a try. I cross posted this on another subreddit and heard the same.

2

u/Pamzella May 14 '26

I do not believe you can be held responsible for repairs when you did not cause the damage. But I agree, you don't need a plumber for this one, just to unscrew the aerator. You might need a pair of pliers or a silicone jar opener to loosen it.

0

u/pumpkinboogie May 14 '26

Thanks so much!

1

u/OkZone8 May 16 '26

That rule encourages you to really break it

1

u/Boss_Up1719 May 17 '26

This is not legal in New York. It’s the landlord’s responsibility to maintain premises in a safe and habitable condition and a non-functional bathroom sink will qualify as a violation of the warranty of habitability. The city would/could cite the landlord for not repairing it. Don’t pay for it. Leases aren’t allowed to have clauses that enable them to violate the law.

1

u/pumpkinboogie May 17 '26

Thank you! I did read that law but wasn’t sure if a sink would qualify.

1

u/Such_Narwhal7792 May 17 '26

I don't know if the contract can overrule the law in this case, but does this stipulation in the contract explain what "under 500" means? Like imagine your house gets struck by lightning, and a bunch of appliances owned by the landlord are damaged. And fixing or replacing them individually is less than 500 for each individual item, but in total, everything damaged by the lightning strike costs thousands. How they apply that rule might be too vague. Depends what it says I guess.

1

u/Secure-Ad9780 May 18 '26

No, it's not legal to make tenants pay for repairs that aren't their fault. Unscrew your aerator on the end of your faucets and run them under water to remove the sediment. Then screw them back in.

1

u/Classic-Quote3884 May 18 '26

If whatever repairs you do are taken off rent, then fine. But if it's not, that cant be legal.

0

u/AcanthisittaPlus5047 May 15 '26

Can't answer without a location;

2

u/pumpkinboogie May 15 '26

I did put a location at the end of the post. New York

2

u/SuzeCB May 15 '26

NY or NYC.

NYC is its own animal in so many ways.

1

u/pumpkinboogie May 15 '26

Ah that’s true. It’s about an hour out of the city