Can I get my damages paid by my landlord?

Question

Ok so let me explain what happened.

First off this took place in Mesa AZ, Maricopa County.

So about a week ago I came home late at night from work and parked my car where I usually park. We have those concrete barriers on the ground to keep u from running into the wall like many parking lots have.

I always park there and never had any issues. But that night I parked there and didnt see that all of a sudden on the right side of the barrier the 1/2" rebar was sticking out about 3 inches above the concrete barrier. I had my music on and didnt hear that my bumper kinda slid over it and it hooked it on the inside under my car.

So the next morning I got into my car again and didnt know that it was hooked in and backed out and it almost ripped my bumper completely off and cracked it in the bottom. Now I have damages to my car and was wondering if the property management can be held liable for it?

The renters insurance already said they wont pay because it's a insured vehicle which doesnt fall under their liability.

My car insurance would pay but I have a $500 deductible which I really dont feel like paying because this wouldnt have happened if the property would be properly maintained.

Please let me know if i have a chance of the property paying for it or not?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I think you would have to prove the property manager knew the problem existed but failed to act in a reasonable timeframe. Tough go.

The world isn't full of rounded corners and sometimes we get caught on a sharp edge.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

time to take it in front of Judge judy and see what she says.. IE small claims court if you really want to pursue this.. you just whining about it wont get it done.. you need a judge to decide who pay

JD Martin · Answer

I doubt it. Unless they came out and made the rebar stick up, or knew it was a possible hazard for months, there's no negligence.

I know the answer you want someone to tell you is "Yes, the landlord/owner is responsible" but your own posts suggest that it was something that just happened, and that you were partially negligent besides:

1. You parked in that spot almost daily until somebody else took it and it was never sticking out before.

2. The property manager likely knew nothing about it until you told them about it.

3. You were listening to music too loud and thus didn't hear that this rebar hit your car.

4. You claim the rebar was sticking up 4 inches and yet you still hit it, which means that you drove over something that was almost a foot out of the ground since those parking barriers are 4-6 inches tall by themselves. That means you weren't paying attention to what you were driving towards.

Submit it to your own insurance and chalk up the $500 to playing the music quieter next time and watching where you are driving, and accepting that sometimes things just happen in life.

Account Closed · Answer

What @JD Martin said is right all around.

You aren’t thinking logically. The landlord was not aware of this issue, you who live there and park there daily was unaware, obviously it wasn’t an issue until you parked over top of the cement parking barrier.

If you had seen this issue and notified the owner about it and they ignored your request you may have a case, but what you did was a driver issue, not a landlord issue.

If this occurred in a Walmart parking lot would you go inside in the man that Walmart pays your deductible? Being a owner of her rental property is just as much business as Walmart is it just doesn’t appear that way to individuals on the outside.

This is a good reason to have $100 deductible and pay the extra seven dollars a month to have a better insurance so that when something silly like this happens you pay $100 instead of $500

Jeremy Wickens · Answer

You were in control of the vehicle that ultimately drove past a barrier designed to protect something else. Would the owner be liable if your car was lower and you smashed the bumper off anyways?

Jeremy Wickens · Answer

I get it, but driving up to those curbs until they touch your tires isn't actually the purpose of them. Could you imagine if every driver that scraped their plastic wanted a new bumper because the owner of the property had barriers that were 6 inches instead of 5 or 4. When you are driving, technically you are responsible for anything that happens while you are trying to move your vehicle. The only time I ever see people win this is in cases where some giant crater J n the parking lot takes out someone's wheels.

Craig Jeppesen · Answer

Sorry man, I think you going to have to shell out the $500. The accident was caused by no one but yourself. If you run over a nail on the freeway and have to get a new tire does the state pay for it? No. It is just an inherent risk of driving and is why you carry insurance. Park further away from the barrier next time. I see people park to close to them all the time and here lovely sounds from their car grinding on the cement. Always user error.

JD Martin · Answer

LOL. Judge Judy would make mincemeat out of this case. It would be embarrassing.

Ronny Rodriquez · Answer

I already spoke to them and they arent willing to pay anything towards my damage at all. That's why I was trying to find out IF it's possible to make them pay it or not? Since its caused by poor property maintenance.

Ronny Rodriquez · Answer

Well I didnt drive past the barrier. My tires didnt even touch the barrier. I parked the same way probably 99.9% of all people park and never had issues. But the rebar caused the issue.

Can I get my damages paid by my landlord?

Can I get my damages paid by my landlord?

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