All Forum Posts by: Jayde Brown

My question is in regards to wear and tear; specifically, plumbing below the floorboards and inside the walls on a 20-year-old rental cottage. If there is leak not readily noticeable, as in occurring inside the bathroom wall and down into the subfloor, is this considered wear and tear? Leak wasn’t a gusher, just a few little drops every 8-9 mins…

Also is the toilet wax ring/bolts/supply line replacement- which was not due to misuse or abuse or damages, just age-the responsibility of the moved-out tenant to pay (taken out of security deposit)?

Just want to hear your thoughts about wear and tear. TIA.

Aloha,

Leaks in the wall or subfloor are always going to be Owner responsibility, as the cause is most likely age and corrosion (which often causes cracking of the iron due to expansion) of the pipes themselves or failure of no-hub bands typically found at prior repair points. Although I have had on two occasions found a drywall screw that penetrated a copper supply pipe during the normal course of construction (the pipes were not properly placed or protected), when the screws, after several years, corroded enough to spring a leak.

Wax rings and supply line/stop valve replacements are also always going to be Owner responsibility, absent clear evidence of intentional physical damage. Your fill and flush valves are also Owner responsibility. Cheap flush levers that break easily could be charged to a Tenant, but I would not...I would replace with better quality metal assembly.

"Normal wear and tear" generally refers to minor scuffs, scrapes, and scratches, chipped corners, and simple wear from repetitive use. The amount and number of these blemishes can certainly rise to "Abnormal wear". This differs from intentional damage, and damage caused from misuse.

Ultimately, a Judge will make the final determination, which is why it is critical to have excellent documentation and photos of pre-move in, and of move out conditions, prior to initiating ANY cleaning or repairs.

Aloha! In this case I am the on-island contact for this rental as the owners live on the mainland. They want to use the tenant’s entire security deposit, plus demand even more additional money from this tenant, to pay for the new floor and ceiling. Upon further examination, I discovered that the leaking upstairs half bath is not permitted, it’s not on the tax map key at all. The TMK says this cottage only has 1 full bath, not 1.5 bath as was advertised at the time the tenant signed the lease. I also found failed plumbing inspections from when the cottage was being built in 2002. Is the discovery of this information of much use, as the tenant is filing a claim for the return of the security deposit?

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Maui, Hawaii

Quote from @Allan Smith:

That is on the landlord to pay as it is upkeep of the property, however if there is an egregious leak that is not reported to the landlord, in my lease that is negligence by the tenant and billed back to the tenant.

Yes, exactly! If it’s such a tiny - but steady- slow leak that appeared to be from somewhere inside the wall, (let’s assume for illustrative purposes about 2 tablespoons of water leaked a day for X-number of days) down to the stop angle and from there, onto the floor, it’s not going to be noticeable until it’s done some potentially serious damage (in my case, the ceiling below this leaking half bath was showing black mold and water damage). At what point does this leak become the tenant’s fault? This leak was discovered during a routine walk-through two weeks before the tenant’s lease was expiring. A prior routine walk-through which occurred four months before, did not find any obvious signs of water leakages etc.

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Maui, Hawaii

0 Votes

Maui, Hawaii

All Forum Posts by: Jayde Brown

Jayde Brown has started 1 posts and replied 6 times.

Post: Landlord claims damage; tenant claims wear and tear..

Post: Landlord claims damage; tenant claims wear and tear..

Post: Landlord claims damage; tenant claims wear and tear..

Post: Landlord claims damage; tenant claims wear and tear..

Post: Landlord claims damage; tenant claims wear and tear..

Post: Landlord claims damage; tenant claims wear and tear..