Broken Window Problem

[Vanessa S.]

Hello fellow members- I have a problematic tenant who pays on time but has created other issues with noise and guests and now, a broken window! In my 20 years of being a landlord for a few properties, I have never encountered this. I don't live nearby so I have neighbors who watch my property. One of my neighbors reported to me that she noticed a broken window earlier this week and she will be taking a photo for me for photographic evidence. I have also been a board member for 20 years for this community and I have NEVER encountered a broken window by any of the resident owners for any reason. Thus, my hunch is the tenant broke the window. What do you suggest I do in terms of approaching this tenant about the broken window? She hasn't reported anything to me so she may be playing dumb and then blame this on something else other than admit fault. I just want to cover my bases with a plan of action. In the perfect scenario, she will offer to pay for it and all is good. But, she has a history of denying fault (eg: noise with guests and smoking) so I want to approach it with caution. Any insight or advice is appreciated! Thank you in advance. 

BTW, her lease ends the start of February so I'm almost done with her and her issues. 

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a nice winter holiday!

[John Morgan]

@Vanessa S.

This has happened to me twice. And both times the tenants didn’t report it. Lol. I have one tenant currently that has a broken window. I told him to get it fixed in October and he still hasn’t. If they don’t tell you about it, then it was their fault. If it was caused by someone else, then they would have reported it right away.