Sooner or later every rental owner gets the text. The toilet won’t stop running. The garbage disposal hums but won’t spin. A smoke detector chirps at 2 a.m. And the question is always the same: who pays for this?
If you own a rental, or you’re about to buy one, this post is for you. Rental growth here has brought in a lot of first-time landlords, and many of them find out where the maintenance line sits only after a tenant or a repair bill shows them. We’ll cover the usual split, the legal baseline, the gray areas, and how to write your lease so nobody argues later.
“24-48 hrs | average maintenance response ; 400 | properties managed ; $1,300 | average monthly rent ; 50 | years of combined team experience”
In This Guide
Why Owners and Tenants Disagree About Repairs
Most maintenance fights aren’t about money. They’re about assumptions.
A tenant assumes the owner fixes anything that breaks. An owner assumes a tenant will handle “little stuff” without asking. Nobody wrote down where little stuff ends, so the first $400 repair turns into a standoff.
Older homes make it worse. Neighborhoods like St. Elmo, Highland Park and Ridgedale have a lot of aging HVAC systems and older plumbing. Those systems fail more often than anything in a newer suburban build, so the lease language matters more here. Vague wording that works fine on a 2018 townhome can cause real trouble on a 1950s bungalow.
The Legal Baseline in Tennessee
We’re a property management company, not a law firm, so treat this as orientation and not legal advice.
Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA) sets the ground rules for repairs. It only applies in counties above a certain population. Hamilton County is generally understood to be covered, but check the current statute text before you rely on that, especially if you own in a neighboring county.
In general terms, the act expects landlords to keep a home fit to live in and expects tenants to keep it clean and avoid damaging it. The details of what each side owes, and what a tenant can do when a landlord doesn’t act, are narrow and depend on specific conditions. Look them up or ask an attorney.
One more point. Don’t assume your lease can hand every repair to the tenant. Tennessee limits what a lease can shift, and a clause that overreaches may not hold up.
What Landlords Usually Handle
Think of the owner’s list as anything that affects whether the home is safe, livable and working as promised. In a typical lease, that means:
- Heating and cooling: furnace, heat pump and AC repairs, plus replacement when a system dies of old age.
- Plumbing: leaks inside walls, supply lines, water heaters and sewer line problems.
- Electrical: bad wiring, tripped panels and outlets that stop working.
- Structure: roof leaks, foundation issues, broken exterior doors and failing windows.
- Appliances you provide: repair or replace them when they wear out from normal use.
- Safety items: working locks and smoke detectors at move-in.
If a Section 8 or HUD voucher tenant lives in the home, the bar is higher. HUD Housing Quality Standards inspections set a stricter baseline for what must work, and we manage that property type here, so we plan around those inspections from day one.
What Tenants Usually Handle
The tenant’s list is about daily upkeep and anything they break.
- Filters and batteries: HVAC filters, smoke detector batteries and light bulbs.
- Cleanliness: keeping the home clean and the trash out.
- Misuse damage: a clogged toilet from flushing the wrong things, or a hole punched in a wall.
- Reporting problems: telling the owner or manager when something breaks, quickly and in writing.
- Yard and exterior: only if the lease says so, in clear language.
That last one deserves a note. Yard care is the item most likely to cause friction. If you want tenants to mow, say so and say how often. If you want a lawn service to handle it, say that too.
A Quick Look at the Typical Split
This table shows how a standard lease usually divides things. Your lease and Tennessee law decide the real answer.
| Item | Owner usually handles | Tenant usually handles |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC | Repairs and replacement | Filter changes, clear vents |
| Plumbing | Leaks, water heater, supply lines | Clogs caused by misuse |
| Electrical | Wiring, panels, failed outlets | Light bulbs, detector batteries |
| Appliances | Wear-and-tear failures | Damage from misuse |
| Pests | Problems present at move-in | Problems from poor housekeeping |
| Yard | Whatever the lease assigns | Whatever the lease assigns |
The Gray Areas That Cause the Fights
Wear and tear vs. damage
Faded paint, worn carpet in a high-traffic hallway and a loose cabinet hinge after three years are normal wear. A broken interior door, a cracked towel bar or a burned countertop is damage. Owners tend to blur the two when they feel nickel-and-dimed, and that blur can cost them. Tennessee has rules for how and when you account for a security deposit, so read the current statute before you deduct anything.
Pets
Most of our properties are pet friendly, and applicants go through a pet application on PetScreening.com. Here’s our take, and it’s a bit contrarian. Pet damage is rarely as bad as owners fear. Poor tenant screening costs more. A responsible pet owner who reports a leaky toilet the day it starts is cheaper to manage than a no-pet tenant who hides problems until they’re ugly.
Appliances and “extras”
If the lease lists a washer or dryer, say whether you repair it or whether it’s a courtesy that stays “as is.” Leave that out and you’ll argue about a $300 repair for a machine you never promised to maintain.
Put It in the Lease, in Plain English
A good maintenance clause is short, specific and written like a person talks. Cover these points:
- What the tenant handles: filters, bulbs, batteries, yard care if applicable.
- How to report a problem: one method that creates a written record.
- What counts as an emergency: no heat in winter, burst pipe, sewage backup, no water.
- What response to expect: many well-drafted leases set an outer limit around three days for issues that threaten habitability, though that’s a typical range, not a law.
- What happens if the tenant causes damage: who pays and how it’s billed.
We use AppFolio, and tenants submit requests through its portal. The portal timestamps every request, lets tenants attach photos and keeps the paper trail in one place. They can also reach us by email, phone or text. We answer our phones, no phone trees, and owners and tenants can talk to Chanda, our owner, whenever they ask.
Written Repair Requests Start a Clock
Once a tenant gives written notice of a needed repair, the law gives you a window to act. Ignoring it, even by accident, can give the tenant legal options and leave you facing court costs and a rent dispute. Check the current statute for the exact timeline.
Here’s a hypothetical. Say a tenant submits a written request in January about a heater that stopped working. The landlord figures it isn’t urgent and waits. That delay doesn’t just make a cold house. It can give the tenant grounds to pursue remedies, and the owner may end up paying more in lost rent and legal trouble than the repair would have cost.
The fix is boring. Treat every written request as a deadline.
Winter Makes Maintenance Disputes Worse
Chattanooga doesn’t get brutal winters, but we get hard freezes, and they catch people off guard. Older homes in North Chattanooga and East Ridge are the usual trouble spots, with exposed pipes and heating systems that were already tired.
Before the first freeze, a little prep goes a long way:
- Heating check: have a licensed HVAC contractor look at older systems in the fall.
- Tenant reminder: tell tenants to keep heat on and to open cabinet doors under sinks on freezing nights.
- Shutoff location: make sure tenants know where the main water shutoff is.
- Emergency contacts: give them a number that gets answered.
One tenant who reviewed us said her only maintenance need “was answered promptly on Christmas day.” Holidays don’t pause leaks, so we don’t pause either. Our average maintenance response time is 24 to 48 hours.
Why Fast, Boring Maintenance Costs Less
Picture an owner whose tenant texts about a dripping faucet. The owner ignores it for six weeks because it seems minor. The slow drip soaks the cabinet below, and a $50 repair becomes a $600 to $1,200 remediation job. That’s a hypothetical, but it’s a pattern we see in how small issues grow.
That’s also why we push back on the idea that handling repairs yourself saves money. DIY owners often delay fixes because they’re juggling a job and a life. They hire unvetted help or do half a repair. The result is usually a bigger bill and more liability than calling a vetted vendor on day one.
Our property managers, Jill and Christina, coordinate repairs with licensed local plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors we’ve worked with before. With 400 properties at an average rent around $1,300 a month, a few weeks of vacancy or a dragged-out dispute eats a real chunk of an owner’s income.
If you’re weighing property management Chattanooga owners trust, ask any company how it handles repair requests at 9 p.m. on a Sunday. The answer tells you a lot.
Document Everything Before the Tenant Moves In
A signed move-in inspection with dated photos is the best protection an owner has. Without it, you can’t prove what was already there, and you may lose the ability to deduct for real damage.
Walk the property with the tenant or document it before they arrive. Shoot every room, every appliance and every scuff. Have the tenant sign the report. Store it where you can find it in two years.
When a tenant moves out, compare the photos side by side. That’s how you separate normal wear from damage, and it’s the fairest way to handle a deposit.
Where to Go From Here
You don’t need to memorize the statute to run a rental well. You need a clear lease, a way to receive written requests, fast responses and good photos at move-in. Everything else is judgment.
If you own rental properties in Chattanooga, TN and the maintenance side feels harder than it should, we’re open to a conversation about property management Chattanooga, TN owners can count on to pick up the phone.
FAQ
Who pays when a tenant breaks something?
Generally the tenant pays for damage beyond normal wear and tear. Photos from move-in and move-out are what back up that claim, and Tennessee has rules about how you account for deposit deductions, so check the current statute.
Can I put all repair responsibility on the tenant in the lease?
Don’t count on it. Tennessee limits what a lease can shift to a tenant, and the exceptions are narrow, so have an attorney review the clause before you use it.
How fast do I have to respond to a repair request?
The law generally expects repairs within a reasonable time after written notice, and the exact timelines should be checked against the current statute. We aim to respond in 24 to 48 hours, and emergencies like no heat or a burst pipe move faster.
Do landlords have different maintenance duties with Section 8 tenants?
Often yes. HUD Housing Quality Standards inspections set a stricter baseline for what must be working, so repairs that might wait in a market-rate rental can fail an inspection.
Who handles pest control?
It depends on the lease and the cause. Infestations that were present at move-in usually fall on the owner, while problems caused by housekeeping can fall on the tenant, so spell it out in writing.
Does Tennessee’s landlord-tenant act apply everywhere in the state?
No. The act only applies in counties that meet a population threshold, and Hamilton County is generally understood to be covered. Confirm the current rule for your county before you rely on it.
