The wobbly toilet seat has been on your mental list for four months. The closet door scrapes the carpet. There’s a quarter-sized hole where the doorstop used to live. None of it is worth a maintenance ticket — and none is worth losing part of a security deposit over when you move out.
Here are five small repairs almost every standard residential lease allows a tenant to do, plus what to buy, how long each takes, and the line where you stop and call maintenance.
1. Tighten a wobbly toilet seat (5 minutes)
A loose seat isn’t a plumbing job — it’s two plastic bolts through the back of the bowl, usually with snap-down caps hiding them. Pop the caps with a flat-head screwdriver, then hand-tighten the wing nuts underneath. If the bolt spins, hold the top steady with the screwdriver while you turn the nut.
If the seat is cracked, replace it. A standard seat costs about $20–$30 and installs with one screwdriver. Take the old seat off first so you can measure shape (round vs. elongated) and bolt spread — the two are not interchangeable.
2. Patch a small nail hole the right way (10 minutes plus drying)
Ordinary wear includes a reasonable number of picture-hanger holes. What turns a deposit deduction into a clean wall is a flat patch, not a lump of toothpaste:
- Push any loose drywall back in with a screwdriver — don’t pull pieces out.
- Dab a pea-sized scoop of lightweight spackle with a 1-inch putty knife, then scrape across twice so it sits flush.
- Let it dry the full time on the tub — usually 1 to 2 hours for nail-hole patches.
- Sand with a 220-grit sanding sponge, wipe the dust, touch up with the paint sample in the closet labeled “wall.”
If the hole is bigger than a dime, you’re in mesh-patch territory. Bigger than a credit card, call maintenance.
3. Fix a door that scrapes or won’t latch (15 minutes)
Sliding bypass closet doors hang from adjustable rollers. Find the small Phillips screw on the underside of the roller bracket and turn it a quarter-turn at a time to raise that corner, opening and closing the door between turns.
For a hinged door whose top hinge has pulled out of the jamb, back the screws out, drop a couple of toothpicks dipped in white glue into the hole, snap them off flush, and drive the screws back in once it dries. The screws bite into fresh wood and hold like new — the single most common “door used to close” complaint, and it almost never needs a contractor.
4. Re-caulk a small gap along a tub or backsplash (20 minutes plus cure)
A thin gray or black line along the edge of a tub or behind a kitchen sink is a failed caulk bead, and water is getting behind it. Left alone for a year, it turns into mold and rot your landlord will notice.
Lift the old bead with a plastic caulk-removal tool or the edge of a putty knife, wipe the joint dry, then run a thin, even line of mildew-resistant 100% silicone caulk along the gap and smooth it with a wet fingertip in one continuous pull. Don’t run water for the full cure time on the tube — usually 24 hours.
If you’re finally buying the spackle, putty knife, and caulk gun all in one trip, a quick scan of the latest top deals sometimes turns up the basics for less than a hardware-store run — worth a 30-second look first.
5. Swap a worn cabinet knob (10 minutes per knob)
Standard knobs are held on by a single machine screw through the back of the door. Unscrew the old one, hold the new knob in place, drive the same screw in. The standard size is 8-32 in either 1-inch or 1¼-inch length; most replacement knobs come with both.
Two caveats: save every old knob and screw in a labeled zip bag in your move-out box so you can put the originals back, and if you’re replacing pulls (the long ones), measure the center-to-center screw spacing on the old pull before you shop or nothing will line up.
When to stop and call maintenance
Plumbing past the shut-off valve, anything inside an outlet or junction box, gas appliances, HVAC, structural work, and water leaks of any size are not renter repairs — no matter how confident you feel. If a fix requires shutting off water or power for the unit, that’s the line. Send the maintenance request, snap a timestamped photo, and let them schedule it.
FAQ
Will my landlord deduct from the deposit if I patch holes myself?
Most leases allow tenant-done minor patching as long as the wall is returned to its original look. A flat, sanded patch is what you want; a lumpy spot with the wrong color paint gets flagged. When in doubt, leave the patch flat and unpainted and let the landlord’s painters handle color matching.
Do I need written permission first?
Almost never — these five count as ordinary maintenance under most residential leases. If yours has a strict alterations clause, or you’re in a rent-controlled or HOA building, send a quick email to your property manager describing the fix. A short paper trail protects you.
What’s the single best tool to buy first if I rent?
A 4-in-1 screwdriver with Phillips and flat-head bits in two sizes. It handles every fix here except the caulk swap, fits in a kitchen drawer, and costs under $15. Add a small adjustable wrench and a putty knife and you’ve covered most renter repairs for years.
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