Tenant said she didn't she had to drip water to protect pipes

[Leona Batiste]

My tenant called me to let me know the pipes had burst at the rental. Her lease states that she is responsible for damages to property due to negligence. When I asked her if she let the water drip she said she didn't know she had to let the water drip although on the news they constantly told people to let the water drip due to the temperature dropping to the 20s for 2 days and ice was on the ground. She said she don't look at the news. I tried to call her 2 days before the freeze and could not contact her. She said her phone was off. I went to the house for 3 days but could not get her. She called me after she noticed the pipe was burst. She said she went to her mom's house and stayed their for 2 weeks because she said she plugged the heater and it tripped the circuit in the house. She did not notify me of this or that she went to her mom's house. Can I evict her? She have also not paid her rent in a month.

[Lynn McGeein]

Read your lease as there are usually terms for notice of absence required for more than x days, so tenant may be responsible for damages if vacant without proper notice, but if power was out to the neighborhood, then how could tenant be held responsible for pipes freezing, either way? If power was consistently on and she didn't maintain proper heat or take steps to prevent frozen pipes, that's different. As far as eviction, if the home is no longer habitable, then you may be able to end lease depending on landlord/tenant laws. States/localities have different rules, like providing rebate of rents due while repairs are being made, or assistance with finding lodging during repairs, or some just let you give notice to end the lease if no longer habitable. Evictions are hard these days, especially for non-payment. I do know a few who are trying -- one was granted for criminal issues, but judge waived all back rents owed, just gave eviction date weeks out.  The other was continued a few times and still ongoing. It's not good out there for landlords who want evictions right now, even if they are justified.