Need advice on how to charge tenant for damage

[Michael Nahm]

Hi to all,

I encountered an interesting issue and would appreciate your wisdom in handling it.

A longtime tenant, who had previously not notified us of an issue in a reasonably timely manner, has done it again.

This time, the toilet bowl had a leak for some time due to a crack.

As we are in the process of replacing the bowl, the professional who inspected the bowl discretely told me that bowls don’t spontaneously crack and that someone put a great deal of weight or force and physically cracked it.

Setting aside any floor damage that may have taken place, I’d like some advice on how you’d go about this. Ideally, the tenant pays for some, if not all the work and damage.

Again, any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

[Julie Hartman]

We had toilets crack at two separate properties and they were both the same brand. Our plumber told us it was a manufacturing defect and not anything the tenant did to cause it. We had never heard of a toilet bowl or tank spontaneously cracking but I guess it can happen. If it was indeed tenant caused, then you will need absolute proof in order to force them to cover it.