Tenant made unauthorized repairs and damaged condo unit below

[Eric Egeland]

This is a new one for me. 

I received a voicemail overnight from the HOA that my condo rental unit was leaking water on the ceiling of the unit below.

I have a tenant who decided to take it upon himself to make a plumbing repair on a tub faucet as he felt it was making a noise, when he turned the hot water on. 

He did not notify me of the issue and went ahead an replaced the faucet...needless to say, he did not install properly and damaged the unit below.

I'm in the process of getting a plumber out to correct his mistake but will most likely be responsible for the damages below. Our lease clearly states that the tenant is not to make any improvements on their own.

I will ultimately send the occupants a bill for the damages, but assume they will not be able to pay. 

Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this?  I'm assuming I will ultimately be holding their security deposit back if they cannot pay.  Unfortunately we are only in the 1st month of a 12 month lease.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,