Is PM Responsible for Bursting Pipes?

[Annie Li]

Hello,

I have a question about whether property manger is at least partially responsible for repair costs on bursting pipes due to heating being off after tenant abandoned the property.  The property manager for one of my rentals in Indy claims he is not responsible for that.

This is how it happened:  tenant stopped paying rent in November, 2016 after moving in 3 months later.  We filed eviction on Nov. 18.  My property manager confirmed to me they check the property on weekly basis to see if tenant moves out, if so, they will transfer utilities under their name and make sure heat is on to prevent pipes frozen.  

Tenant shut off utilities on Dec. 1 (I guess they moved out on or before that date).  Property manager changed the lock on or before Dec. 9, but didn't turn on heat until Dec. 17.  When my friend went to check the property, he found there are 4 places that the pipes burst.  I spent $500 to fix them.

The explanation that property manager provided is the gas company won't turn on gas without  electricity being on, and the power company didn't turn on electricity until mid December.  I asked him why it took so long, he said it's on them and he has email communication that they requested electricity to be on in early December.  When I asked him today to forward the email to me, he said he has done that in December and refused to resend it.  

I feel that even though the property manager requested electricity to be on in early December, they should have followed up with the power company if it was not on the next day (the power company "Indianapolis Power and Light Company" has been very responsive and always turned on electricity within 24 hours for my other properties).    

The property manager charges regular monthly management fees when the property is vacant, so I think they should be at least partially responsible for the cost of plumbing fix.

Please kindly share your thoughts or experience, really appreciate it.