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How to Ask Your Landlord for New Appliances

Older Woman Doing Laundry with a New ApplianceWhenever the appliances in your Brainerd rental home are old or aren’t working properly, you may be thinking about asking your landlord to replace them. While you may feel that you have good reasons to ask for new appliances, there are both right and wrong ways to go about it. Before you call or send an email to your landlord with your request, it’s important to do some preparation first. Following a few uncomplicated tips, you can craft a request that your landlord will have a hard time saying no to.

Check Your Lease

Before asking your landlord for new appliances, the first thing you must do is re-read your lease documents. While the appliance may have come with the house, your lease may indicate that your landlord is under no obligation to repair or replace them. Some leases put that responsibility on the tenant instead. Even in the event, your lease states that your landlord isn’t contractually required to replace faulty appliances, you can still ask. You’ll need to tailor your argument with your specific situation in mind.

Check State Law

Landlord-tenant laws differ from state to state. In some states, the law requires a landlord to keep all of the appliances in good working order – irrespective of what the lease says. If you live in such a state, this is information you can use to help you persuade your landlord to replace a broken appliance. Even if your state doesn’t have such a requirement, it’s a good idea to have a good working understanding of what the law does and doesn’t cover so that you can prove that in your request.

Explain the Benefits – and the Costs

As you prepare to draft your request, take some time to develop all the reasons why your landlord should replace an old or broken appliance. Try to look at the situation from your landlord’s perspective and explain how new appliances will not only benefit you but offer benefits to your landlord as well. New appliances often require much less repair than older ones, which will probably save your landlord time and money in the long run. They are also more energy-efficient and may have rebates your landlord can use to save money. You could also mention that new appliances will help your landlord find new tenants more easily after moving out.

Don’t forget to mention your careful observation of the lease terms, your on-time rent payments, and so on. Similarly, it’s important to explain all of the ways that you, the good tenant, have been negatively impacted by the malfunctioning appliance(s). From high utility bills to spoiled food, explain any risks that broken appliances pose to your health and budget. If your landlord understands how unhappy you are with the situation, that might motivate them to agree to your requests.

Offer to Help

Most landlords are remarkably busy and don’t have much time to spend on any one tenant. Make granting your request for new appliances easy by sending along some research on good quality brands and deals on new appliances in your area. You can also offer to help remove and set up the new appliance if you have the skills needed to do so. By approaching your landlord with good information and offers to help, you can present them with more good reasons to say yes.

Keep It Reasonable

If you’ve sent your greatest arguments and your landlord still refuses to replace the appliances or perhaps claims that they can’t afford to do so, there’s one last thing you can try. If possible, offer to pay for half of the appliance yourself, especially if you plan to stay in the rental home for an extended period. If your landlord takes you up on your offer, be sure to get all of the details in writing, including the appliance’s total cost. Choose a machine that is both reasonably priced and good quality – going too extravagant may cause your agreement to end before you get the appliance you want. Again, being able to recommend a brand and a good bargain at a local store may encourage your landlord to agree to your request.

Are you in the market for a new place to live in Brainerd? We can help with that! Contact us today about our current listings or call us at 218-454-7368.

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