Weather / moisture damage; temporary motel for tenant ?

Question

Basically I am wondering if anyone has ever had something happen to a property that created an issue for the tenant to stay there until repairs were made.   The unit is roughly 500 sq ft and has two adults & a child living there.   Basically all the work is in one of the rooms, where basically the unit is 3 rooms.  So with the one quarantined off it doesn't leave much room for living.   But I'm mainly asking if any Landlords in the BP universe have ever had to put up tenants in a temporary motel until repairs were done or if the law doesn't force a landlord to do that.   I don't think there will be anything more than an inconvenience to the tenants while this work goes on but I wanted to ask anyway because I am curious if anyone else has experienced something relative to it.

Derek W. · Answer

not sure what your local laws are, but cmon! Your house is filled with sewer water and you're not bending over back wards to accommodate your tenants by getting a hotel room? Have you looked up the definition of slum  Lord in the dictionary lately? Glad I'm not renting  from you. Step up and do the right thing.

Account Closed · Answer

Why is she renting this dump?  I'd call the city building inspector.

In a normal world, when a tenant's stuff is damaged, their own renter's insurance is supposed to cover it and is not the landlord's responsibility.

Kevin Enderle · Answer

In my experience running a mold mitigation company for 17 years and dealign with hundreds of these cases, it is better to have the tenants out. Mitigation work is messy and noisy. With neg air, dehus, etc. all going it is going to be very hard for the tenants to stay in such a small place, especially with a kid. Plus, it slows the mitigation work down having to work around them. A few days in a hotel will speed the process of remediation up, ultimately saving on expenses.

Jason Boulay · Answer

I'm not sure of your local laws, but I have an addendum to my lease regarding renter's insurance.  It is strongly suggested, so when situations like this come up, the tenant is able to submit a claim through their renter's insurance policy to seek temporary housing.  I would also give a rent concession for the pro-rated amount of rent for the number of days they are unable to stay.

Thomas S. · Answer

This type of situation comes down to a judgement call on the part of a landlord. Tenants are far more demanding, unrealistically so,  than homeowners and this must be considered when making decisions.

What you do is place yourself in the same situation as though it happened to you in your own home of a similar size and situation. If it happened in your home would you move to a hotel to facilitate repairs or stay in the unit and work around the situation.

Simply because a tenant demands something does not make the demand realistic. First step is quick response, second is to determine extent of inconvenience to tenant, third determine if rent concession is warranted, last and extreme case is temporary relocation of tenant.

Randall Brown · Answer

don't most rental contracts have a paragraph that says "if the unit is not habitable, then this contract is void"?

Of course, if it is not habitable because of landlord negligence, that's a different story.

If a unit floods because the sewer main collapsed unexpectedly, the landlord most likely bears no responsibility and -- according to contract -- is not responsible for motel room bills.

I have seen a landlord being forced by the city to put tenants in hotel rooms -- 1 week for adults and 2 weeks for adults with kids, because the city red-tagged several buildings.

Now, what you are legally obligated to do, and what you may end up doing for good-will reasons, that's not the same.

No legal advice given.

Joan Defenbaugh · Answer

My daughter, husband and 3 children rent a house that has ongoing plumbing problems. The tub leaked through to the utility room and on to the furnace. no working furnace. Hit water tank vent pipe is disconnected. The guy who does the work for the property manager can't seem to fix anything.  He put in new tub and it still leaked. So many issues with this house! When there is damage from a plumbing leak,  doesn't the owner call their home owner's insurance to repair it?

Eric Hathway · Answer

is it ever the legal obligation of the owner to provide replacement housing when the property is damaged. My property flooded today (sewer backup) and my tenant is demanding I put her in a hotel. Can I get sued? Is it my responsibility?  Her lease doesn't say anything about uninhabitable conditions.

Derek W. · Answer

I have put tenants up many times. For less than $100 bucks per night, if the repair makes the residence uninhabitable, it beats a law suit, or losing a tenant. In some of my neighborhoods, a few hits of crack can replace a hotel room. ( joking!)

Weather / moisture damage; temporary motel for tenant ?

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