How do you prevent renters from killing your septic plumbing

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 1:19 am

If youre an owner, you make sure your family doesnt flush tissues, but what happens if you buy a house and rent it?

Do renters really care if you have a $20,000 to $30,000 septic job bill, that eats up almost a full years rent?

What happens if a month or so, into a rental of a private home with septic tank, theres big issues, that costs many thousands to fix?

amother

Tiffanyblue ↓

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 1:29 am

We rent and there is septic.

I think halachically and ethically and perhaps legally it’s our responsibility if we cause septic problems. We use the one ply tissues and no anti bacterial .

It should be in the lease but ours isn’t.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 9:59 am

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Is there a way to prove what products were used and not used?

Also dont large families with a lot of water use, harm septic tanks?

And if yes, what happens if the renters promise they used only the right products and its found that kids perhaps flushed other stuff down, then landlords have to pay a 20,000 bill that eats up months of rent?

amother

Cobalt ↓

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 10:00 am

Theoretically you might have a claim against them but the reality is that it would be very difficult to prove that they were the cause of damage to your septic system that caused that much damage.

This is why renting - especially single family homes - is not without risk in many ways.

In terms of being practical, many people who rent think about maintenance issues of their rental properties and so they don't put in finishes that require care not to be ruined - they don't use marble but use a granite that doesn't stain easily; they don't install hardwood floors but use a hardier surface.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 10:16 am

Wouldnt this make short term rental of houses with septic systems, not deoable, because people who are short term renters dont care as much especially knowing that if they ruin septic system they can say "it wasnt us"?

How do owners of homes with septic systems, who want to rent short term (a week or weekend now and then), manage this issue?

amother

↑ Tiffanyblue

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 10:30 am

amother OP wrote:

I can’t imagine most people renting a house for a weekend would be very careful about the septic. I wouldn’t rent out a house so short term that wasn’t very durable for lack of a better word

amother

↑ OP

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 10:36 am

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

I can’t imagine most people renting a house for a weekend would be very careful about the septic. I wouldn’t rent out a house so short term that wasn’t very durable for lack of a better word

That makes sense, but entire huge neighborhoods in Jackson and Lakewood have septic tanks, so none of those owners rent short term? If they do rent now and then short term, how do they minimize risk of septic issues?

amother

↑ Cobalt

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 10:42 am

amother OP wrote:

You could put a sign in the bathrooms and leave it as part of the instructions.

When you provide them with the keys, you could also stress that only the toilet paper you supply should be used

You should provide suitable trash receptacles in every bathroom and bedroom along with small plastic bags and alert people to where the plastic bags are

If they clog something during the weekend, you know they are the culprit

Long term probably no way to prove anything but it also is unlikely that one or a few things are going to be a problem. And if they did it would be an immediately backup hopefully.

Do people really rent out their homes that frequently? Is it legal to rent short term as many places don't allow short term rentals.

tweety1

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 12:26 pm

Renters.dont.care. Not all but many. At one point we had physical proof it was the tenant because a piece was found that wasn't ours. When we showed it to the tenant they were like "hey where did you find it we were searching for it". I don't know. I've had plenty of 3 yr Olds. None of them ever flushed such a thing down the toilet. Boxes of Tissues yes but not that.

watergirl

Mon, Oct 02 2023, 12:31 pm

I would not rent if I was in your situation. Renting is a huge risk not only for the septic system but in many other ways. If an owner can't manage the risk, they should not rent out their home.

In general, make sure you are pumping the system as often as you are supposed to. That's all you can really do.

I mentioned this before, I rented an apartment where it was not septic but the owners said not to flush even TP. We had a plumber take a look and he said it was fine to flush, so we did and had no issues. He also told us if there were any issues from flushing TP and we ended up in court, he'd testify on our behalf.

You really can't control what the renters or even your own kids are doing when you are not looking.