All Forum Posts by: Jon A.

Would I have a chance of winning if I take this matter to court? Has anyone had experience sueing their tenants?

To be honest I didn't mention one thing from my original posting. This is my first time renting a place and obviously I need to learn a lot. When my tenant moved in with their renters insurance, I thought that would replace my property insurance so I cancelled it on the same day theirs kicked in. It took 6 weeks until I found out I need to have my own property insurance so I have it now, but the water incident happened during the 6 weeks period. So if my tenant doesn't pay for the damage I need to pay it out of my own pocket. My tenant wanted to have a mediator involved but I refused it after I found out there would be a multi session procession and first one needs to be three hours long - I did not want to request a half day off of my work.

I emailed my tenant today and gave them three options - either they pay the fee, they don't pay and I'll start an eviction process and civil lawful for the money, or sign a new contract that they will leave 2 months earlier than the original contract so I can keep their 2 months deposit. 

Thank you everyone for your responses.

@Drew Sygit

This was a letter I received from the tenant's renters insurance:

The policy purchased essentially provides coverage for damage due to the 16 perils outlined in your policy, things like Fire, Theft, Smoke, Explosion, and more. Unfortunately, damages to Property rented by an insured is not covered under this policy. I have attached the policy language below:

SECTION II – LIABILITY COVERAGES 

A. Coverage E – Personal Liability If a claim is made or a suit is brought against an "insured" for damages because of "bodily injury" or "property damage" caused by an "occurrence" to which this coverage applies, we will: 1. Pay up to our limit of liability for the damages for which an "insured" is legally liable. Damages include prejudgment interest awarded against an "insured";

SECTION II – EXCLUSIONS

F. Coverage E – Personal Liability Coverage E does not apply to: 

3. "Property damage" to property rented to, occupied or used by or in the care of an "insured". This exclusion does not apply to "property damage" caused by fire, smoke or explosion;

Thank you all for your responses. So far the tenant paid for the plumbing service when the accident happened (about $450) and also a part of cost for the demolition (I informed them I paid a half of the fee from their deposit and asked them to pay the rest, which was about $1400). Should I take a responsibility for these fees also? I honestly thought the tenant should take care of the fees, but I'm not trying to make them pay for anything they are not responsible for. Thank you again for all your help.

Hello everyone, I'm looking to get some advice on this situation with a tenant in my property. 

I own a condo unit and this tenant has been living there for a few months now. Soon after they moved in, they asked me if I can replace a faucet handle in the bathroom because it was hard to turn on/off. I did not have any issue using it before they moved in and so I told them the replacement wouldn't be needed. The tenant asked me if I could get a material to fix the issue using a lifetime warranty I had, so I did and they received it not too long after.

The issue happened when they decided to replace the handle by themselves. They told me they had shut down the water first (I had told them how to when they moved in, in case if they needed to do,) but apparently it did not shut off the water pipe that was connected to the faucet. They called me when the water started to leak and it took a few hours to have a plumber come in and stopped the leak. The incident caused damages on walls in my unit and a unit below.

The tenant has a renter's insurance so it covered the damage unit below mine, but it did not cover for my unit.

In order to fix the walls it required a partial demolition, drying process, and restoration. In total it's almost $20k.

I believe my tenant should be responsible for the cost because the incident happened when they tried to fix the faucet without getting a professional's help. However the tenant thinks I should use my property insurance for structural repairs, that I should have offered to fix the faucet at the first place that it was supposed to be a landlord's responsibility.

Would you please share your thoughts and advices please? The bathroom has not been restored yet and it's been a few months the tenant has not been able to use it (they have another bathroom to use in the unit, at least.) I really appreciate for your time and help.