Satellite Dish Installation on Rental Homes: An Innocent Request?

There is a potential danger lurking in your rental home.  It may seem innocuous, but it can bring lots of shady characters and dangerous ideas into your tenants’ lives.  It never sleeps, relentlessly pushing its own agenda and standards on to its unsuspecting victims.

 

It’s satellite TV.  And the same moral danger exists to all of us.

 

But, alas, we live in a democracy and can’t really control what people choose to watch. 

 

However, I do want to talk about the hardware- satellite dishes.  We get relatively innocent requests from tenants:

 

Tenant: Hey Brett, we mailed the rent check today.

 

Me: OK.  Cool.  Thanks!

 

Tenant: And there was something else.  I’m really getting into FanDuel fantasy football and want to get the NFL package from my satellite provider, so I need you to sign a form that gives me permission to put a dish on the roof.

 

Me: OK.  But I’m pretty sure there is already a dish up there.

 

Tenant: Yeah, but it’s not the right one.  We need one from this other carrier.

 

Me: OK. But are they taking down the other dish and making sure that the one they are putting up is coming off too after you vacate?

 

Tenant: I don’t think so…

 

Me: OK.  I’m pretty sure dishes aren’t like flowers; they don’t look that great and involve drilling into the roof and stuff.   I’m not sure we really want to be collecting dishes up there?             

 

Tenant: You’re saying “OK” a lot, but have not yet said “OK” to the dish…

 

Every landlord wants tenants to (legally) enjoy their rental homes.  But what about these dish installation requests?

 

As Charlotte property managers, we typically recommend saying “OK”.  But we also add the following caveats that need to be agreed to in writing:

 

1.  The tenants are responsible for any damage the dish causes

 

2.  The tenants are responsible for having the dish and all the wiring taken down when they vacate

 

We’ve taken over management of rental homes that have had 4(!) dishes installed on them.  It’s not pretty.

 

So, we’re not trying to tell anyone what they can watch, but we are making sure the venue they are watching their NFL package in is protected.

 

And good luck in FanDuel!  But please don’t bet the rent money on your line up, OK? 

 

Brett Furniss is the head property manager of BDF Realty (Charlotte Residential Property Management), the trusted real estate advisor for Charlotte landlords & Home of $100 Flat Fee Property Management.   BDF Realty utilizes their innovative Pod System for exceptional customer service in residential property management, home repairs, and home sales for single-family homes, Uptown condos, and town homes in the Charlotte-Metro Area.  Contact Us Today!