Pipe burst in garage whose fault?

[Pat Martin]

So I had a tenant leave the garage door open at my rental house for a whole day on the coldest day of the year and the pipe that goes to outdoor faucet burst. The pipe was not insulated. Do you think I should pay for repair or bill tenant?

[Rob K.]

This has been a brutal winter, but it sounds like a bad design. I would want a shutoff up line somewhere in the house so the outside spigot can be turned off and drained for the winter.

As far as this repair, it's probably an easy fix. One burst cold water pipe in a garage? I would just fix it and use PEX so it doesn't happen again.