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Updated about 3 years ago on . Most recent reply

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Tenant who was served a 14day pay or quit notice reported flood

Posted

New tenant moved in on October 2021 and was late with every single rent payment. She paid rent (and did not pay the late fee) for the month of November on 11/8 after being served a 14-day notice to pay or quit. She did not pay rent for the month of December and was served her second 14-day notice to pay or quit on 12/4. Five hours after the notice was delivered, she complained that the property has flooded because of an issue with the drainage/sewer pipe. My wife and I dropped all our Sunday plans and went there to assess/mitigate the issue. There was sewer water standing in the powder room on the main floor, in the mud room (also impacts our washer dryer units) as well as the kitchen sink. 
The tenant (who has not been paying me rent to start with) has been screaming at me asking me to get the house fixed and back in shape since she has a one-year-old son. I had a plumber come and assess the issue, who said that while fixing the plumbing issue might be a one day job - there was sewer water damage that I would need to worry about since it can affect the floor, sub floor, base boards, dry walls, high voltage electricity lines (because of the dryer). 
I told the tenant that I would need to call this property uninhabitable (since she had screamed at me about how the mold and bacteria from the sewage water can harm herself and her child) and asked her to find herself alternate accommodations. If it's a hotel - she can check her renter's insurance policies and get back to me and I am willing to discuss the matter further.
Questions:
1. In a case like this, is the landlord responsible for paying for a tenant's accommodation?
2. I've heard horror stories about how extensive and long it can take to rehabilitate a property, is it wiser for me to terminate the tenant's lease? If yes - how should I approach my tenant with this? For example-how many days' notice do I have to give her to pack up her stuff and leave while the contractors work there.
3. If it is found that the tenant had sabotaged and caused the flooding - who is responsible for the flood damages and the loss of my property valuation owing to this?
4. How does all this affect the 14-day notice to pay or quit that I have already served her with?
5. I ended up filing a case with my Landlord's insurance who will be processing the case; am I required to provide my tenant with any of this information?

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