Tenant did not notify of issue, now a problem

[Tanya H.]

I have a tenant who moved in to one of my patio homes in July.  

This morning she notified me that 2nd floor toilet for the 2nd bathroom overflowed yesterday and leaked to the ceiling on the first floor around a light fixture.  They used a plunger and got rid of the blockage.  But she's included a picture of one of the bolts of the toilet, showing that it's missing a bolt.  She claims she noticed it on move in and noted it on the checklist which she has not sent to me (yet - supposedly).  

Upon further questioning, she says the toilet actually didn't overflow and that the wax ring was broken and water was seeping there.  She claims guests that have used that toilet have mentioned that the toilet rocks.  So you can see where this is going.

But isn't the fact that there was an issue that she failed to notify of us make her liable for the issue and the damage?  We can easily fix the toilet - new wax ring and make sure the bolt is secure.  But the damage to the ceiling below, etc should be her responsibility. 

Thoughts?

Tanya

[Mike McCarthy]

That’s a tough one. Though they should have notified you, you probably should have noticed it during changeover. Though a wax ring issue would result in a slow drip/leak. An overflow due to a blockage is much more water. I would get a plumber there to fix and give you an opinion on what happened. If it was a wax ring, I would eat it. An overflow was probably something they shouldn’t have flushed.