Apartment call today

[Larry B]

Property owner calls at noon. Tenant went to Mexico on vacation til Jan, 3 and shuts the heat off to save money. Water line broke on second floor flooding walls and floor, ceiling downstairs falls in, lower level flooded, lower level of apartment next door flooded.


The Kicker

Property owner calls the tenant and is told by the tenant its her fault. Tenant said that if the pipes were wrapped in insulation that -o temps would have never broke the water lines.



Marry Christmas!

 

[Guest]

Well technically it is the owners problem.Im not running the heat if Im not home either,getting it for free in Mexico.

PS-you guys live in a cold state,so the building should have been protected

 

[Larry B]

How is it the owners fault if the renting tenant shuts the heat off and leaves town?


A Property owner can't control the thermostat in a rental.

 

[Guest]

Your kidding right?Guess we know whos ass your kissing.So does he have to keep having the paper thrown while he is out too? You live in Illinios,what kinda landlord do you work for?

 

[Larry B]

Your kidding right?Guess we know whos ass your kissing.So does he have to keep having the paper thrown while he is out too?

What the hell are you talking about?


Are you going to tell me that if you own a house and the tenant shut down the heat and left town that you would think something like this is your fault?

We are not talking about an empty rental thast the owner is keeping the heat on in

 

[KevinL]

Uh oh. Here we go. I had a broken pipe in an empty apt. today. That's obviously the complex' fault. Had one yesterday in a house that was just put back together 10 months ago after a broken pipe. He was out of town but had the heat on 68. Both places plastic pipes.

 

[Rex Tyus]

I hope the landlord has insurance to cover stupid tenants. I would Evict them with no deposit returned. It was the renters fault. You can't insulate a house well enough to prevent them from freezing in extended 0 deg temps with the heat off. Hell I am from Florida and even I know that.

 

[Walrus Gumboot]

I own rental property. If this senario happened to me I would NOT hold the renters accountable. Couldn't by law.
I have Insurance for these types of problems.

Just like when I had to replace some HVAC equipment because the renter didn't change the $2 air filter.
Or when I had to buy a new frig because the renters left in the middle of the month,turned the electricity off and left rotting meat for 4 weeks until I realized they were gone.

My motto;
Don't expect much, and you won't be dissappointed.

 

[Larry B]

100% negligence on part of the tenant.

 

[Guest]

Stupid renters or not,my point was the owner is responsible,maybe not for it happening,but financially.

PS-Like Steve said,dont expect to much,and that I am sorry to say, goes for everything

 

[Dolly Llama]

"IF" they turned the heat "completely" off, I agree it's their fault.
If they just turned it down, that might be another matter


Whether they're legally responsible to pay for the damage, I donno

I'm heading out in a minute to fix some wind damage and i won't make a penny for doing it.
I'll be on MY OWN roof
had a 15ft section of roof caps blow off last night

DAMMIT


..L.T.A.

 

[Mark Imbesi]

The apartment complex called, so they are responsible for the bill, no?

 

[Guest]

On Tueseday nite at 1 am we had 19 flooded units!!!! Same thing the tenate shut off the heat!!

We had to buy 13 new fans in a hurry so Great Lakes Steamway had a good week on us!!!!

And the renters has to pay the bill, but we get paid by the complexe, let them deal with the legal battle

 

[Dolly Llama]

The apartment complex called, so they are responsible for the bill, no?

sure.
But they my very well try to recover the cost from the tenant.

..L.T.A.

 

[Larry B]

Owners will pay.

Owner is also a lawyer so I am pretty sure he will not just eat this.

 

[Rex Tyus]

As with most things regulations on rental agreements and leases vary GREATLY from state to state. That being said if the lease is intelligently written "negligence" could be covered as a reason to evict and secure deposit and seek payment for damage. I have rental property also. The trouble is you will rarely be able to actually collect IF you get a favorable ruling. You will be added to list of debts they already owe and can't pay. That is why you have insurance and let the insurance company go after them to recover the loss if they feel it is worth it. But holding tenants accountable for negligence IS allowed by law in MANY states.

 

[Guest]

The apartments dont file for insurance on something like that, they have a $250k deductable,
If they lose a building due to fire than they file!

My Michigan office, we service 144 complexes!!
we go though this evey day!!!

 

[Rex Tyus]

The apartments dont file for insurance on something like that, they have a $250k deductable,
If they lose a building due to fire than they file!

My Michigan office, we service 144 complexes!!
we go though this evey day!!!

Are you stating that generically, as in ALL or just your experience?

 

[Guest]

The problem is proof.negligence,in this case is gonna be hard."yes your honor,I did set the thesmostat before I left"

 

[Walrus Gumboot]

I guess if they have something stated in a lease specifically saying that the tenent must provide sufficient heat to insure the pipes don't burst they can sue.
Damn,that's so stupid I had a hard time writing it.

Think about it.

That's like suing an employee for damaging a piece of equipment.
Good luck.

 

[Rex Tyus]

I guess if they have something stated in a lease specifically saying that the tenent must provide sufficient heat to insure the pipes don't burst they can sue.
Damn,that's so stupid I had a hard time writing it.

Think about it.

That's like suing an employee for damaging a piece of equipment.Good luck.

It is absolutely nothing like that Stevie. Where do come up with these analogies? Negligence and property damage are VERY common clauses in a lease. You don't think about it because you probably don't have rentals in or have never lived in sub zero climates. Thus you lack the foresight to imagine outcomes such as this. You shouldn't judge the world on your train of thought or limit all situations to your limited exposure.

 

[Walrus Gumboot]

Been renting properties since 86'.
As far as I know, you can't even force them to have electricity, much less heat.

I could be wrong.
but I'm not.

You can put whatever you want to in a lease, doesn't mean you can enforce it or that it's legal.

My analogy with the employee was that you won't collect from either one.
Happy to clear that up.

How in the World could I hold my renter responsible for pipes bursting from extreme cold temps?
Ridiculous!
Yes, we have busted pipes in North Georgia.
Yes Sir Judge,it was 30 below and they let my pipes freeze while they were out of town.
silly.

 

[Larry B]

Laws must really be different from state to state.

If you dont have utilities around here you can and will be put out. Even the government housing we take care of evicts people for having utilities shut off.

Maybe since your a renter you should take a look at your lease.

 

[Walrus Gumboot]

Sorry Larry, I've been a Landlord since 86'. Renting out properties.
My bad.
I wouldn't know about gov't housing.

 

[Larry B]

Sorry Larry, I've been a Landlord since 86'. Renting out properties.
My bad.

Sorry Steve!


Must have looked at it wrong

 

[Walrus Gumboot]

I must admit I have no idea what you yanks do,though.
Rex is right,my world is small (Mayberry).

 

[The Preacher]

where was the pipe located that busted?? interior wall? did the owner have a hygrothermometer and did he record the inside temp to back up his claim? it's all about record keeping, right???

 

[Guest]

I must admit I have no idea what you yanks do,though.
Rex is right,my world is small (Mayberry).

Didnt Athens give us REM?

 

[R W]

Chances are that the tennent was responsible for his separate heat bill (gas), so he turned it down to minimum. We've had many like that where the snowbirds head south, and turn the heat down to 35-40*, expecting that to keep the unit warm. I see a legal battle here.

 

[Larry B]

where was the pipe located that busted?? interior wall? did the owner have a hygrothermometer and did he record the inside temp to back up his claim? it's all about record keeping, right???

There was pictures taken of the thermostat. When we all got their the guy had changed the locks so the owner had to call a locksmith. By the time the door got opened the owner, maintenance man, locksmith, guy next door & me was all their.

The heat was not just turned down low he shut the heat off. The temp needle goes down to 40 degrees and it was stuck their. I took in a moisture meter and the temp was 23 inside the apartment. The water line was in the second floor bathroom.

Apartment is a 2 story unit that is on the end of the building.

Chances are that the tenant was responsible for his separate heat bill (gas), so he turned it down to minimum. We've had many like that where the snowbirds head south, and turn the heat down to 35-40*, expecting that to keep the unit warm. I see a legal battle here.

Tenant is responsible for all utilities. They didn't just turn it down it was shut off.