Save the Stinky Fridge!

[ChickenTender63]

Most credible landlords that are worth renting from (apartments) do supply and maintain all appliances except for maybe the washer/dryer. If you are renting a house, then it begins to become more common that the tenant supplies the refrigerator.

If they do not supply and maintain ALL appliances in an apartment situation, then you need to look at the complex down the street that will.

I used to be a property manager and managed 100+ units, and the horror stories that I have heard and seen from appliances. My units always had fairly new, completly working clean appliances, and we never had issues with maintenance on them.

The slumlords that don't care about the property or appliances, whether it stinks or works, doesn't care about the tenant either. It's sad.

 

[poppycat]

It varies state by state what appliances or amenities you must provide in your rental properties. Usually the wording in the lease says that they are for the tenant's use, but the landlord is not responsible for their upkeep.

I will never again provide a refrigerator in my rentals for the exact problem mentioned by the OP. There's no telling what someone might put in there and ultimately I'm responsible for cleaning it out. I provide every other appliance and they are spotless when my tenants move in.

I think smell can be absorbed by the plastic lining of the fridge, or it could be a problem with the mechanical parts too. I'd first try wiping everything down with a bleach/cold water solution, and pull it out, vacuum underneath and look around with a flashlight to make sure nothing gross is stuck down there.

 

[cjparker]

A little lemon juice in some warm water will do the trick.