Toilet Clogged and Overflowed/ Sewer Backup- Remedy/Cost/How to

[Mak K.]

Tenant was not at home and came at night. They told me that two toilet downstairs overflowed and sewer water is in the rooms. I am still waiting on photos and details.

I have Insurance at $3.5k deductible. Tenant also has renters insurance. I stay away from the property so do not have access physically.

1> How do I investigate and find out if it was tenant fault they clogged the toilet or a natural cause.

2> What is approx. cost to clean the lines and clean the carpets? Is it more than my deductible?

3> I have a home warranty ($70 Service fee) which covers clogged toilet. Should I open Home warranty first or open the insurance claim with mine or renters? Will insurance send the person to investigate the issue?

Newbie here so need guidance as I am running out of time.

[Julie Hartman]

@Mak K. IMO, the first order of business is fixing the issue and cleaning up the sewer water before opening an insurance claim. Sewer water is gross and a health hazard to your tenant. When you say "downstairs" do you mean the basement? If so, it is possibly tree roots in the sewer line. Several of our older properties require yearly rooter maintenance for clogs. If the home warranty will do a rooter cleanup, then maybe call them for the repair. Otherwise, I would call a rooter company to snake the line. The cost will depend on where you are located and the type of access they have. Here, we pay $99 or more if they have to pull a toilet; it covers the first 100' of line. We can pay extra to have them run a camera scope so we can see the condition of the pipe and the type of clog. That can be helpful if we suspect it was tenant caused. There is no way to know what carpet cleaning will cost. It varies depending on location and square footage. If you plan to open an insurance claim, you will need photos of any damages. The tenants own rental insurance should cover their belongings if they had damage. We tell our tenants the owners policy only covers the dwelling. Do you have someone in the area that can go over and look and take photos for you? If you are not close by, you may want to consider a property manager. Good luck!