Originally Posted by Sly

Market dependent. If the renter has the power, landlord absolutely pays. If the landlord has the power, it's a crap shoot.

At this point I would probably just eat it as it's a small amount of money and too much time is being spent on it, particularly if they are a decent tenant.

Frankly I think the "call fee" is a pretty good deal. It's not the contractors fault that nothing needed to be done. They took the time to drive to the location, check out the issue and then leave to the next job. That time could have been spent working on a different job. Opportunity cost. Getting any kind of contractor to do anything for less then $100 is not too shabby. And if they are a regular contractor, as mentioned, I would not be screwing around with them. Good contractors are hard to find, and somebody that comes out the next day? Shit.

Pay the contractor. Update your lease moving forward to address issues like this if you desire.