Water damage-Tenant did not report leaking dishwasher

[Lisa D.]

I am so upset that I could cry. My tenant notified me a couple weeks ago that "in the past week the dishwasher has been leaking". She forwarded pictures to me showing that the pantry next to it has water damage so significant that the wood is rotting out at the bottom. The floor board of the pantry is rotted. The grouting between the floor tiles has crumbled away, and it's so bad that there is water even dripping down into the door frame of the neighboring unit below. The HOA plumber did an inspection and sent pictures to me, and I am so upset. This was essentially a new house. New cabinets and appliances and flooring.

So, an appliance tech is going over tomorrow morning to repair the dishwasher. I'm not sure what to do about the rest of it. I think I need to take a carpenter over, or someone who understands how to assess damage to the flooring, cabinets and can assess the mold situation (the tenant also sent a photo of mold in the bottom of the pantry). The report came over from the HOA and said yes, this would have been long term damage, not something that happened in a weeks timeframe.

We are at the end of the lease, but they have not indicated any interest in moving out.  What is my next step?  I'm not a pro landlord.  This is a personal home that I have rented out temporarily.  I'm in California and not sure what my rights are at this point with respect to the damage that has occurred.  If I'm not mistaken, in California I essentially have no rights to speak of.  

[Terrell Garren]

Lisa, it's a tough situation but "this too shall pass" and you will be ok.  I suspect the pictures may look worse than the repair-ability actually it is.  Hopefully, you don't have to replace appliances. The subfloor under the tile probably needs replacing.  I would recover with LVP, not tile. A good carpenter can probably patch the cabinetry.  I am hoping you have a less than $5K problem on your hands, which is not unusual in the rental business. I just hate it is your new, first rental.  Regarding your tenant, I hope you are on a MTM agreement or have a clause in the agreement states that they must report problems immediately.  Then terminate the agreement.  Given COVID and California, this is 10 times more difficult. Keep your chin up.

Best, Terrell