I charged Tenant for furnace abuse

[Nathan Gesner]

Previous tenant occupied the home for two years with no furnace problems. New tenant moved in two months ago. Last week they called to report the furnace wasn't running. I send someone to check it. Long story short, they kept getting different fault codes, replaced some parts, cleaned some parts, inspected for damage, etc. No matter what they did, they couldn't keep it running and said it would probably be best to replace it since it's 15 years old and a low-quality furnace.

I decided on a second opinion. Second plumber had same fault codes, cleaned some more, and couldn't figure out what the problem was. He finally decided to check the venting. He stuck a camera into the vent pipe and...

Yes, that's a baseball. The plumber digs it out but then...

A baseball, tennis ball, wiffle ball, nerf ball, multiple rocks, and trash. This family has four children whereas the previous tenant had none, so it's pretty clear who caused the issue.

My lease is clear:

I feel bad for the tenant but it took two different plumbers, around 10 hours, and several parts replaced. The invoices haven't arrived yet but I suspect the final bill will be in the neighborhood of $1,000 and the tenant will have to pay it all.

I hope this proves helpful to others.

[Linda Weygant]

Originally posted by @Ray Harrell:

I think this would be your fault for not properly protecting your furnace vent access. The words in your lease do not say anything about your heating vent. It only talks about the toilet and septic tank for objects flushed into the toilet.

Your tenant may not read and you may get away with this, but I don't think it would stand up in court, especially not in Chicago. You have to take steps to mitigate damage to your property. Having your vent this close to the ground is inviting not only kids to put things in there, but animals as well. Not only should you position it at least 10 ft, but it should also have a mesh screen (1 centimeter) to prevent large animals from getting in.

You're joking, right?

How do you protect from willful destruction?  I mean, they're kids and I get that.... but this is nothing short of willful and intentional harm and negligence on the part of the tenant/family. 

This can't even be considered an attractive nuisance.  

I had a tenant flush potatoes down the toilet.  4 whole, raw potatoes.  They claim their 4 year old did it.  Was I somehow supposed to protect against that too?

There's nothing for the OP to "get away with".  They are well within their rights to bill back for damage and destruction caused by the tenants or their guests/family.