Tenants turned off heat, pipes froze. Advice needed

[Ian K.]

My tenants turned down the heat since they had purchased a home but were still under lease for a few weeks with my rental.  They turned the heat all the way down, I guess around 40 or 45 (it's past the last number of 50).  We got deep freeze and pipes burst.  I got it all repaired for about $1500 and a lot of my time.  The part of the lease that pertains to this states: 

"The Tenant(s) agrees to keep premises in good, clean condition, - to make NO alterations, including painting; to replace glass broken or cracked as a result of Tenant’s neglect or careless use of the premises, to repay the Landlord the cost of repairs made necessary by the neglect or careless use of the premises by theTenant(s), and to surrender the premises at the termination hereof in like condition as when taken, reasonable wear by the elements and ordinary wear and tear excepted."

There is nothing in the lease that says they have to keep the heat at a certain temperature. 

The deposit I have is $1575.  They were good tenants and left the place in otherwise good/fair condition.  

How would you handle this?  What would you charge the tenants? Thanks in advance

[Joe Splitrock]

My lease specifies a minimum temperature and so does my move-out document. My lease also states that a property is not to be left vacant without someone checking on it (even if a tenant is just on vacation). I check on any vacant house every couple days. I run the cold water while I am there to keep water from sitting in pipes, which can increase odds of it freezing, especially on exterior walls which is common in kitchens.

Even though your lease doesn't specifically call out this information, they are still responsible for the damage caused by their neglect. 

As far as how to deal with this, I would return $75 and include a copy of the $1500 receipt for the damage. Explain to them that the $1500 does not include any charges for your time dealing with the problem. The reason I would return the $75 is so they cash they check which is proof of receipt and could even be considered acknowledgement of the charges. Send the return check and letter via certified mail requiring signature.

They may try to argue that they left the temperature above freezing, but the problem is a thermostat only holds to internal temperature at the center of the house. The exterior areas, walls and basement will measure 10-15 degrees less. That is not an issue if the house is set to room temperature or above (60-75F is generally room temperature). The other issue is when water is not being run regularly, it increase likelihood of freezing. 

I am sure they intended to save some money on the gas bill, so this turned out to be a costly lesson in thermodynamics.

Also don't take this wrong, but as a landlord it is negligent to not check on vacant properties. You could have ended up with squatters or a meth lab (that happened recently in my city in a vacant rental property).