How much should I compensate tenant for flooded condo?

Question

Well, the upstairs condo did it again.  Their pipes froze and burst and flooded my rented condo below them.  All the carpet has been removed to cement floors.  The lower 2 feet of the walls cut out.  She has to keep her cat in a cage to keep it out of the walls.  A lot of her furniture is ruined but she has rental insurance.  It's taking time to get everything fixed.  My guess is about a month.  The last time this happened (6 months ago due to clogged condensate line from same upper condo) they had to cut a hole in the ceiling of the my condo and replace a much smaller portion of carpet.  She was happy with a $100 break on rent.  I know I need to compensate her more this time.  The place is totally livable but definitely annoying for her.  Rent is normally $1575.  How much would you compensate the renter?  She is a good renter BTW.

Eric Belgau · Answer

You should be able to get in touch with the owner of the unit that is causing damage to yours and threatening your rental business.  Your HOA officers or management company has a responsibility to make that possible.  The owner of the upstairs condo has a responsibility to your business.

The HOA board members have D&O insurance (or should).  If they fail in their obligation to you (and the owner of the other condo, incidentally) then you can make a claim against that.  Your management company has E&O.

I had a similar situation about a year ago and got no love at first.  I politely explained that I wasn't going to be left holding the bag and that the harder they made it for me to win the more expensive it was going to be.  (Why would I care about hiring an attorney when I know the other guy is going to have to pay his fees?)

To your question, I didn't compensate our tenant.  I made her part of the fight, keeping her up to date, getting detailed documentation from her, and in general using the situation to build a sense of teamwork.  In the end we got the owner of the other unit to pay her rent for the entire time she was inconvenienced, and she was happy with that.  But I think she would have been okay with whatever compensation we might have won.

(I should point out that it didn't actually require attorneys or claims against people's liability insurance.  Banging the drum is often as effective as storming the castle as long as you mean what you say.)

Account Closed · Answer

There is a winterization method but I don't know if the upstairs tenants did it or not.  I have not been able to contact the HOA for a week now.  They just take calls and don't return them.  My tenant just asked if she could break the lease and leave.  She's been a great tenant and I don't want to put her thru anymore so I told her it was ok.  I will make a concerted effort in my already stressful life to put the screws to whomever caused this.

Account Closed · Answer

Hi Dawn, one issue is that no one is really telling me what happened although I do suspect negligence from the upstairs condo.  They are tenants there and I've tried to get in touch with the owner but thus far unsuccessful.  He'll get a piece of my mind when I do contact him.

I liked the idea of just asking the tenant and this I already have done.  Haven't heard back from her yet, I'm sure I will though.

To Scott, the HOA master policy is cleaning everything up but they aren't answering the phone or calling back.  Have left messages.  I will also let her help with what type of carpet to put in.  For some reason I highly doubt they will compensate any money break that I give the tenant.  They probably go by the book.  A friend of mine said to call Public Insurance Adjusters who help with insurance situations for a reasonable fee.  I might do that.

I agree Jon, half a month rent would be worth it...

Really appreciate ALL the comments!

Steve Babiak · Answer

Check your CCRs to see if there is anything in there regarding maintaining proper temps to avoid freezing of pipes.  If there is anything in there like that, then you have more ammo on your side to take an approach like what @Eric Belgau just posted.

Jason Eyerly · Answer

In addition to what Dawn said, did they have their pipes properly wrapped and treated for the weather? I also like Scotts idea. Letting her pick a new paint color or new carpet would make her feel more like it's her home, it'd likely make her happy, and she'll take even better care of the property.

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

There is no way to sue the owner of the upstairs condo for negligence?  Did they leave their heat off such that they allowed the pipes to freeze?

Jon Holdman · Answer

I'd agree with @Jason Eyerly to discuss this with the tenant.  This situation isn't really neither your fault nor hers, but it does inconvenience both of you and cost both of you money.  I've been there during our floods in Sept 2013 when I came home to 4' of water in the basement and massive damage to our stuff, especially my wife's art studio.  Fortunately nothing structural.  We had a few really bad days and nights but even then we were still able to stay in the house.  We were in the middle of a bath remodel and the flooding wiped out our only working bathroom.  But with massive help from our friends and some hasty work we were able to get back to a liveable state quickly.  Even now, four months later, we're not 100% repaired, though we're getting pretty close.  All the assistance from friends went a long way toward mitigating the pain.  Seems like you're trying to get her back to normal.  Seems like the place is still liveable, if not pleasant.  Ask her want would help her out.  I'd think spending half a months rent, perhaps a little more, to keep a good tenant through that pain would be money well spent.

Scott McClelland · Answer

Did you contact the condo HOA about the situation?  I had a similar situation happen to me and the HOA came in, assessed the damage, and compensated me for the repairs.  They then charged the upper unit for the repairs.  If it is bad enough they may help with any inconveniences for the tenant.

I also compensated the tenant for their energy bill since they had to run industrial dryers for a couple of days to dry everything out.  Small cost to me and it went a long way with the tenant.  I also let them pick out the new carpet (within a price range).

Jason Eyerly · Answer

That sounds like one hell of an annoyance to live with, I may consider as much as half off if she's a good tenant and the sorts. Be up front though, ask her what would she like to make her feel better and go from there. If its reasonable then just give it to her! Glad she had renters insurance. That tells me that she is a sophisticated and responsible tenant.

Best,

Jason Eyerly

How much should I compensate tenant for flooded condo?

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