Who should call and pay when a tenant's or leased shop's garage door breaks?

The owner or the property manager should authorize the repair, and whoever authorizes it is who we bill. The tenant's role is usually access: letting the technician in, sharing a gate code, or describing what happened. That applies to rented houses and to leased shops, barns and outbuildings on rural properties.

If you are the tenant

• Report the problem to your landlord or property manager first, with what the door is doing and whether it is stuck open or closed.
• Ask them to call us and authorize the work. We can then coordinate the visit time with you and bill them directly.
• If you call us yourself, we will still need the owner's or manager's authorization before any billed work.
• Do not keep operating a door that banged, hangs crooked or has a loose cable, and do not try to adjust springs or cables.

If you are the owner or manager

• Call or send a work order with the address, the problem and how we get in.
• Give us the tenant's name and number so we can arrange the visit with them.
• For a separately leased shop or barn, tell us which building and who is paying when you book.

The technician diagnoses the door and gives a written price before any repair starts. Repair visits carry a $45 diagnostic trip fee, invoiced to the party who authorized the job.

Why authorization comes first

The person who approves the written price is the person who receives the invoice, so settling that before the visit avoids a tenant being asked to approve work they are not paying for, or an owner being billed for work they never saw. If the lease splits repair responsibility in an unusual way, sort that out between owner and tenant before booking, then have the owner or manager call. For setting up ongoing work orders, see working with property managers.

Read more

• Garage door service for property managers
• Garage door repair in Orangevale
• Garage door repair in Wheatland

Related questions

• Can a property manager authorize a garage door repair and arrange access?
• Do you work with property managers and bill the management company?

Have a different question? Call (916) 838-8182 or browse all garage door questions.