When should I call a professional?

If it’s an emergency or serious issue, make the call.

Some repairs simply can’t be put off. An untreated electrical shortage could spark a fire. A leaky pipe in one apartment could cause thousands of dollars of water damage in the entire complex. In those situations, it’s necessary to bring in a trained professional, ideally before a situation grows dire.

If it’s less urgent, weigh the risks.

If you’re a family of five and your washing machine breaks, it might not be feasible to transition to a washboard.

If it’s not urgent, Safadi recommends people over 65 or with underlying health conditions postpone work for a few weeks. If they need to go forward with a repair, he advises increasing safety precautions.

Apartment owners still have an obligation to make repairs within a reasonable time frame, but Bannon stressed that the pandemic has affected what’s reasonable.

Some tenants don’t want home-repair workers in their units — and it’s difficult from a legal perspective for a landlord to enter a unit against their wishes, Bannon said. On the flip side, some maintenance workers are hesitant to put themselves at unnecessary risk. The latter makes it trickier to find someone to tackle a job immediately and increases the turnaround time for some repairs, he added.

“It’s not a good time for maintenance unless it’s a serious issue,” Bannon said.