Broken Dryer Issue

[Alex O.]

Tenant who has been in the unit for about 2 months contacted me the other day about the in unit stacked dryer being broken. For reference, it's stacked, with the washer on the bottom and the gas dryer on top in a custom closet, it's fully enclosed with one of those vented folding doors on it. There was an error code and it wouldn't work, the unit is just over a year old, so out of warranty. I researched and it turns out the code indicates something overheated and it's a failsafe to replace a specific part. I just called a repair company who was able to meet the tenant same day and the part is on order.

I head over to the building today to do my usual changing of the air filters and general inspection of each unit. I decide to check out the dryer myself, to no surprise, it had the issues and won't work. However, I notice the tenant decided to stack a bunch of moving boxes to the sides of the unit. I mean packed in there nice and tight, as many as he could cram. Common sense indicates that 1. it's a fire hazard and 2. it's restricting the airflow and probably caused the overheating.

I called the repair place and talked to the tech, he confirmed that the cardboard was there when he showed up, so at least the tenant can't claim he just happened to put it there yesterday. But he hemmed and hawed as to whether the cardboard caused the damage and said it could be a blocked vent, but he would know more when the part comes in and they do the fix. The repair will cost me at least $210.

My question is, how should I play this? To me it seems like common sense that this guy caused the problem. My issue is, if I deduct it from his deposit and he contests it, I will have to prove to a judge with absolute certainty that he did this. Deposit penalties where I am are insane and just wouldn't be worth it on the chance I lost. I've already sent an email telling him to move the cardboard because it's a fire hazard and he has acknowledged it, apologized and said he will move it.

I know I screwed up by trusting this guy would have some damn common sense and not inspecting the issue in person. Had I seen the cardboard, the whole thing would have been different and I would have put the repair on him. Lesson learned. Also, I know that a lot of the experts don't like providing in unit W/D, but where I am, apartments in these neighborhoods always provide laundry. It's just standard to have them in nicer units as absolutely no one owns their own to bring along. The better tenants that I cater to expect this and will pay for it; going to a laundromat isn't an option.