Most will LOVE it if you do your own repairs...especially if you also pay for the parts and materials yourself.
This really comes down to the individual character of your lanlode.
Some of them really love having foreign tenants. We're more demanding, and there are communications problems, but we typically pay a higher rent than the Chinese will. These landlords will do their best to keep you happy and comfortable, and promptly take care of reasonable repair problems.
The more common type already has your money, and is currently somewhat vague on who the hell you are although your face does ring a distant bell. You won't be able to get even the simplest repairs done without threats; economic threats (announcing that if they don't do it you'll get it done yourself and deduct the invoice from your next rent payment, refusing to pay rent until the repairs are completed, etc.) are the most effective. These landlords view you simply as a source of free income; expecting them to go to any trouble or expend any money to maintain their properties will be met with astonishment and outrage. You're also likely to have a fight on your hands to keep the point that the problem is not your fault.
I had one landlord try to stick me with 50 RMB in repairs to an ancient water heater, because "everyone knows foreigners use more hot water than Chinese." Another one tried to force me to buy her a brand-new TV to replace the 10-year-old one the apartment came with, after it suddenly went black in the middle of
South Park. In both these cases I stuck to my guns and the landlords eventually backed down; you should do the same when it happens to you.
You should know that things like building infrastructure, uh, well...
just aren't the same as in our home countries. Much of the work in China is done by its largest conglomerate, The Idiot Cousin Company. We all know their work....fast-food boxes that don't stay closed unless you rubber-band them; door lock systems with the handles on the wrong side of the door; eyelash-thin uninsulated wiring in the walls connecting to a socket with 4 power strips plugged into it; paints made from water, cornstarch, and banned toxic hazardous dyes; tea jars that leak like sieves...all done by The Idiot Cousin Company. No matter the need or problem, you can always just call Idiot Cousin and get the job done for next to nothing. Sure, the quality is
, but only foreigners and troublemakers care about such things. The Price Is Right.
Needless to say, the materials and workmanship of construction and decoration here is quite an interesting hodge-podge...
I strongly suspect there are some amazingly adept craftsmen here, but are under such pressure to keep things cheap that they can't do the work they're capable of.
I'd say that if your husband can fix something up fast and easy, will enjoy himself, and will only have to spend a Yuan or two, go for it. Probably faster and easier to do it that way. Anything significant, though, you should make the landlord take care of.