Recourse for tenant refusing to pay for damage? VA

[Joo Chung]

Hi, this is my first post on BP. I'm glad to have found such a fantastic community of people! I hope I can not only learn a lot here, but also give back at least a little bit from the experiences that I've had over the years. Anyway, without further ado ...

I have a problem. Last November, very late at night, a tenant of mine broke the toilet inlet pipe, causing a flood that led to about 500 square feet of laminate flooring getting wet. All of the flooring needs to be replaced, because, as you may know, laminate flooring, once it gets wet, expands, leading to raised areas where the pieces join. Plus, there was an emergency call to the plumber to fix the pipe to the toilet (needed because the toilet wouldn't work otherwise).

I paid for the emergency plumbing repair, and have gotten estimates to replace the flooring, and have told the tenant to pay, since they caused the damage. The tenant absolutely refuses to pay, claiming that the pipe broke on its own, or some nonsense like that (although the tenant did admit to causing the pipe to break in other communications). 

Also, I've tried to schedule a time to have the floors done, but the tenant doesn't want me to have the work done, because the tenant doesn't want to pay for it. I know that I have the right, as landlord, to have the flooring work done as long as I give 24 hours notice. So, no problems there. 

I've offered to let the tenant pay in installments, I've offered discounts on the repair fees, and I've given months to come up with the money. Tenant simply will not pay. 

I was just going to deduct the cost of repairs from the security deposit, but based on estimates for flooring work, the tenant is going to end up owing me probably another thousand or more beyond what the deposit covers. 

In the lease, it says that the tenant is responsible for paying for damages caused by the tenant. There is no clause that says that damage payment will be deducted from rent payment (this is something I will be sure to include in the next tenant's lease). So, how do I get my repair costs covered? Do I have grounds for evicting the tenant? 

The property is located in the state of Virginia. 

Many thanks for any advice!

Oh, and another thing, the tenant had one of their friends call me and yell and accuse me of trying to take advantage of the tenant. Harassment ... ?

[Lynn McGeein]

 I'm not a lawyer, no legal advice, but if this happened to me, I would ask the plumber who did the emergency repair to write directly on the bill how the pipe was damaged so you have some sort of proof that it was actually damaged and not just an old burst pipe or something, then send the tenant a copy of the bill and request reimbursement for your payment within 30 days along with a copy of the lease terms that show he is responsible for damage he caused.  In the letter, I'd state that future repairs to the laminate flooring resulting from the damage will also be billed once repairs are made; however, this will be based on a percentage, how old the floors are already.  I had a tenant damage carpet after only 2 years, but I couldn't charge the whole cost of the new carpet as it had to be proportional, I think it's 5 years, so they were charged 3/5 and I had to pay the 2/5 part even though I shouldn't have had to pay anything had they not damaged them so I don't agree with that concept.  

You can also plan on small claims court, probably best before the lease ends as then you actually know his legal address.  I went to court with someone whose tenant blocked heat in the laundry room in winter to save money, and while he won a $3000 judgment for damages caused by the burst pipes, but he never recovered anything as the tenant just moved and apparently quit his job and left the state when his wages were garnished.   But I think having everything documented in writing, especially the repair bill showing damage, will help immensely, especially if the tenant does not want a judgment on his record.