Flooded basement townhouse

[Tina M mcdonald]

I have a bit of a sticky situation. My current tenant has renewed lease for 2nd time. My basement is unfinished and not intended whatsoever to be used as living space. Water is currently coming in and I am in limbo with HOA trying to remedy the situation outside of the house. The problem inside is that my tenants are using space as their master bedroom. So their stuff is getting wet. I don't want to make them angry but that space should be used for storage at best. If it was just storage I would tell them to move whatever they have down there to upstairs in the livable area. What do I owe them? They want out of the lease. I am willing to let them leave no problem. They are looking for moving expenses, etc. Help.

[Anthony Wick]

Do they have renters insurance? Does your lease require it? Does your lease state the lower level cannot be used as a bedroom as it is unfinished and does not contain an egress window? My lease says all of the above, and I would not give them anything other than advice to file a claim with their renters insurance. And if they wanted out of their lease, I would attempt to find a replacement asap, while letting them know the  unit is still habitable and they are responsible for rent until somebody new signs a lease.