When a Repair Waits on Parts: What to Offer the Tenant

When an appliance repair delay comes down to a part on order, offer the tenant a stopgap that matches what they've lost: a loaner or mini fridge for a dead refrigerator, a countertop cooking appliance for a dead range, laundry room access or a laundromat credit for a broken washer. Tell them when you'll check in, and write down every offer. If the wait runs past your decision date, replace the appliance instead.

Match the offer to what the tenant actually lost

Not every broken appliance needs an interim fix. A dead dishwasher is an annoyance; a dead refrigerator in July is spoiled food and possibly spoiled medication. Spend your effort in proportion.

Refrigerator: the one that can't wait

A refrigerator is the appliance where a parts delay does real damage, so it gets the fastest stopgap. FoodSafety.gov says a closed refrigerator keeps food safe for about four hours without power, and perishables that have sat above 40°F for more than two hours should be thrown out. A part arriving next week doesn't help with that.

A small fridge or a spare full-size unit from building storage is the usual answer. If you keep one spare on a portfolio, keep it somewhere a super can get it upstairs the same day. In a walk-up, that means a hand truck and two people, so plan for it. Plug the loaner straight into a wall outlet rather than a light-duty extension cord, and leave it standing upright for a while before switching it on if it was carried on its side.

Ask one question when you call: does anyone in the unit keep medication that needs to stay cold, such as insulin? That changes how fast the loaner needs to arrive.

Our note on what to do when a tenant's fridge dies covers the first few hours: quick checks for the super, temporary storage and food-loss requests.

Range or oven: cooking without the stove

For a dead range, a countertop appliance gets the tenant cooking again within a day. An induction plate is the closest substitute for a cooktop, but it only works with magnetic cookware, so check what the tenant owns or include a pan. An electric hot plate works with anything. A toaster oven covers some of what an oven does.

Check the kitchen circuit before you hand one over. Prewar kitchens often run the fridge, microwave and countertop outlets on one or two circuits, and a 1,500-watt hot plate added to that can trip a breaker or worse. Ask the super which outlet is on its own circuit, if any.

Don't offer, or allow, camping stoves or anything fuel-burning indoors. A hot plate is the stopgap. A propane burner is a hazard.

If the stove is out because the building's gas is shut off rather than because of a part, the timeline and the obligations are different, and that's a separate situation, covered in what a gas shut-off means.

Washer and dryer: laundry room or laundromat

When an in-unit washer or dryer waits on a part, the simple offer in a building with a laundry room is access to it, and if the machines take cards or coins, a credit to cover the gap.

Without a laundry room, some owners offer a laundromat or wash-and-fold credit for the duration. There's no standard amount and no general rule that requires it; it's goodwill, and it's the owner's call. Decide the policy once for the portfolio so supers aren't improvising different offers in different buildings.

Dishwasher and disposal: usually just a clear update

Most tenants can live with hand-washing dishes for a week if they know when the part is coming. The interim offer here is information.

The exception is a leak. If the dishwasher fault is a leaking valve or seal, shut off its water supply under the sink and tell the tenant not to run it. A slow leak during a two-week wait becomes the downstairs neighbor's ceiling.

When the appliance repair delay drags on, replace

At some point the interim fix costs more than ending the wait. Set the decision date when the part is ordered, not when the tenant's patience runs out.

Swap in a replacement when the part has no ship date and the appliance is old, when the date has slipped more than once, or when the tenant has a reason the stopgap won't cover, like a medical need or a large household. The costs to weigh are the loaner, any credits, the second trip, and your own time fielding calls. Our note on why appliance parts get backordered explains how to read a vendor's ETA so you can judge how reliable the date is.

Keep the tenant updated on a schedule

The update matters as much as the offer. A tenant with a mini fridge who hasn't heard anything in nine days will still call, and they'll be angrier than one who got a two-line message on day five.

Promise a specific check-in day and keep it, even when the only news is that the part hasn't shipped. Our tenant message templates include a parts-delay message you can adapt.

Write it down in case it becomes a complaint

A long parts wait is when an appliance problem is most likely to turn into an HPD complaint or, in a rent-stabilized apartment, a decreased-services complaint. Your record is what shows the owner acted.

For rent-regulated units, New York's housing agency (HCR) says owners are required to maintain all required services and equipment in good working order, and tenants can file a decreased-services complaint (form RA-81 for an individual apartment). If HCR orders a reduction, the legal rent goes back to the level in effect before the most recent guidelines increase until the owner gets a restoration order. HCR recommends, but doesn't require, that the tenant notify the owner in writing first. This is general information, not legal advice; talk to your attorney about any specific dispute.

What to keep, per unit, for the whole wait:

• the date the tenant reported the problem and the date of the first visit
• the technician's diagnosis, the part number, and the ETA you were given
• every interim offer, with the date, and whether the tenant accepted or declined it
• each update you sent, and the date the repair was completed

Keep the declined offers too. "We offered a loaner fridge on the 3rd and the tenant declined" is a very different record from silence.

Get the delay out in the open early

Most of this works only if you know about the parts delay the day it happens. Ask your vendor to tell you at the diagnosis visit whether the part is in stock, backordered or discontinued, so you can arrange the stopgap the same day.

When you open a work order with us, include the unit and anything the tenant has told you, and we'll quote the repair for your approval before work starts.