HELP: Burst Pipe

[Mark Graziano]

To make a long story short I am going to give you the headlines - We live in Atlanta, GA

We had a pipe burst in a rental property, which we found out about l last night but must have been going on for a week or more as the tenant went on vacation and didn't notify anyone, which may cause 2 feet of drywall to be torn out from the entire house.  We have a water evacuation team in place  and it will get diagnosed tomorrow to see if we need to have the drywall cut out. 

Do I have to provide alternative housing for them?  If so, do you have any suggestions?  I was thinking and extended stay hotel.  

2.  From where I am standing this seems like it is going to be a long drawn out process with an unhappy tenant.  He does not have renters insurance and wants everything replaced because he thinks everything has hold in it.  Is there anything i can do to help him short of replacing his things, which is not going to happen?   It seems like  he already wants out of the property.  Do I break the lease if he does?

Any advise would be appreciated

Thanks

Atlanta, Marietta, Acworth, Woodstock,

[Julie Kern]

Hey @Mark Graziano.  I don't have any advice but following this to see what others have to say. So sorry to hear about this happening!  

[Jason Bott]

@Mark Graziano The burden is on him.  Renters Insurance would have covered his items and a temporary place to stay. 

If it's a requirement in your lease, then he has not one to blame but himself for not purchasing the coverage.

[Percy N.]

Mark Graziano , as Jason Bott said, this is why the tenant needs renters insurance and our lease strongly recommends it and strictly says landlord not responsible for damage to personal property.

Your insurance company should cover cleanup and remediation. Contact them ASAP and find out the loan process. Should not take more than a couple weeks to get an insurance appraiser and then a few more weeks for a check.

Make sure you are there with the appraiser and show them all the damage. Ask them what else would need to be replaced to get a feel for what will be allowed in the claim.

[Kim Bayless]

It can be a gray area, but generally if you were not negligent in upkeep (as in didn't ignore requests from tenant that there was a possible issue) you aren't liable for the tenant's belongings. He also has a responsibility to "mitigate the damage", which by being gone he didn't do. Not your fault he took a vacation. And not your fault he chose not to carry renters insurance.
I've not been in GA that long so not familiar with any state laws that might address this, especially the part about being required to furnish alternate housing.
If he wants to leave anyway, I would think breaking the lease would be cheaper than renting him a hotel though.

[Gail K.]

Georgia is a very landlord friendly state.  There is no statute that requires a landlord to provide alternative housing during these repairs.  As others have mentioned, one option is to allow this tenant out of their lease (especially if there is a concern that the rental unit is currently considered to be "uninhabitable" at this time) and that may be your best option since your tenant is already making that terrible "m" (mold) word.

Georgia does allow a tenant to sue for what is described as a "constructive eviction" and I only mention this if your tenant brings this up after reading about this on the internet.  Constructive eviction tends to involve an issue involving a repair that a tenant has REPORTED and a landlord has failed to address; for example, reporting a leaky roof that the landlord ignored and that finally causes the ceiling to fall in, damaging the tenants bed.  In your case you are certainly addressing this repair issue immediately.

And no, you don't owe for his belongings.  As others have pointed out, that is what renters insurance (which is incredibly cheap) is for.

Good luck.

Gail

[Mark Graziano]

Thank you @Jason Bott, @Percy N., and @Gail K..

I spoke with the project manager for the of the water evacuation company and we are walking through the property today.  If we do need remediation we would need to remove all of the tenants belonging to do so.  The tenant says he doesn't want to deal with the belongings because they may have mold in them bla bla bla (This is a 3 bedroom house full of stuff)

My question is:  What do I do what these belonging?  The remediation co. will not remove them because they are not covered under renters insurance and I can not do anything with them because they are not my property.

Thoughts?

[Phil Earley]

It is the tenants responsibility to protect themselves from situations like this just as you did. If the home is deemed uninhabitable, rent can abate while the repairs are being taken care of which would cover the tenants cost to move to temporary housing on their dime.....this is a Georgia law thing to protect the tenant from paying double rent.  Proving the home is uninhabitable is basically measured by the tenant moving out.  If they don't move out, the home is habitable. 

If the tenant decides to cross the line and use the "mold" word for safety concerns, you send them a notice telling them they must vacate immediately and rent abates until repairs are completed to protect themselves as a gesture of good faith.   There is a 99% chance you are calling their bluff.  If they don't move out, have them sign a hold harmless making them fully aware that they are staying at their own risk.  

If the courts in Georgia see that a reasonable approach is being taken by the landlord, it is tough to get into trouble.  Landlords who get in trouble here most likely deserve it.  

[Robert Melcher]

Phil and Gail got it right, i think.  rent abate during repairs, if they want to stay. if they don't, tell them to get their stuff out ASAP so you can do repairs. If they abandon their things, get them to say so in writing, let them know they are responsible for removing them, and then use the deposit for the haul-off if they don't.

[Colleen F.]

Just curious, they did not notify anyone of the leak which they knew about before they went on vacation?  or they didn't say they were leaving for 2 weeks?

Our lease has language that it cancels if not inhabitable. What does yours say? You can't charge them for uninhabitable days so you would rebate rent pro-rata for those and cancel the lease.

[Manolo D.]

Just curious. What if the tenant will not sign anything? Everything is assuming that when you present a paperwork to the tenant, the tenant will sign, most likely they won't. mold does not develop that fast, just a suggestion, why not have the project manager write up something that tenants belongings does not have any mold development on it.

[Phil Earley]

As Landlords and Property Managers, we are all in the Risk Prevention business.  

Its not so much about the signature in this case rather than papering the file to show the courts (if needed) that the landlord was responsive to the tenants concern with a reasonable solution to protect them.  Going on the offensive in a professional way deflates an aggressive tenant quickly especially when the "m" word is used.        

Papering the file with a certified mold remediator's statement is always a good thing too.  

Thanks @Manolo D.

[Mark Graziano]

Thank you @Phil Earley that is great advise. I will follow it.   @Colleen F. The tenant was working on a project in florida for 2.5 weeks and did not let anyone in management know.  Our lease is similar to your in that we have a 7 day

[George Kountoupis]

Mark Graziano You should really check with your attorney. It's great that everyone is offering solutions, but just because something is legal in one area does not make it legal in another.

Check with your real estate attorney. If you haven't already befriended one that will give you bits of advice and help at no charge, then you should really try to make one of those connections. It will save you major time and money, as well as spare you a lot of pain!

Good luck!

[Manolo D.]

Phil Earley Thanks Phil, I was thinking more in the lines of certified mail with return receipt, but there's always a line where unnecessary and overkill, so just wondering where it is when it comes to landlording.

[Jamarr Lee]

@mark Graziano hey Mark I don't have any advice for you as far as your current problem, but for future references you might want to revise your leasing agreement for future tenants to get insurance . Kind of look over apt rental agreements to see how they structure theirs so you can be better covered for situations like this. I hope you find out what you need to get the problem taken care of.

Best of Luck!

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Mark Graziano:

To make a long story short I am going to give you the headlines - We live in Atlanta, GA

We had a pipe burst in a rental property, which we found out about l last night but must have been going on for a week or more as the tenant went on vacation and didn't notify anyone, which may cause 2 feet of drywall to be torn out from the entire house.  We have a water evacuation team in place  and it will get diagnosed tomorrow to see if we need to have the drywall cut out. 

Do I have to provide alternative housing for them?  If so, do you have any suggestions?  I was thinking and extended stay hotel.  

2.  From where I am standing this seems like it is going to be a long drawn out process with an unhappy tenant.  He does not have renters insurance and wants everything replaced because he thinks everything has hold in it.  Is there anything i can do to help him short of replacing his things, which is not going to happen?   It seems like  he already wants out of the property.  Do I break the lease if he does?

Any advise would be appreciated

Thanks

Atlanta, Marietta, Acworth, Woodstock,

 First, no, you don't have to provide alternative housing.

All you have to do is credit them their prorated rent for the days they cannot inhabit the unit.

As mentioned, your lease probably has a clause that says that if the unit becomes uninhabitable (due to fire, flood, etc., normally), the lease becomes voided.

Your tenant is responsible for emptying the unit.  If you have to spend money emptying it, the tenant is liable.

What I'd do, if I understand you correctly, and the tenant wants out of the lease and is not in good financial shape - is to tell the tenant that you'll let them out of the lease and give them their full deposit back if they empty the unit completely of their belongings by X date.

I don't personally see you being able to hold the tenant liable for the flood damage based on them leaving without notifying anyone.  One reason is because it's summer and burst pipes are not associated with leaving a unit uninhabited during summer.  In winter, yes, if the heat was turned off, etc.  But, I don't see there being any kind of negligence on their part, where burst pipes could be foreseeable because they were gone during the summer.

So, unless they did something you're not mentioning that could make them obviously liable for burst pipes during the summer - I don't think there is any basis to hold them liable for damage that happened while they were away.  Even if the tenant told you they were going on vacation, it wouldn't likely have been normal for anyone to go into their unit every day while they were gone to see if pipes have burst, if you see what I mean.