2006-09-29 04:53:34 · 17 answers · asked by marco polo 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Assume for one minute that the landlords position might be that YOU actually caused a clog, back up, and flood...Nooffense meant, I'm not judging you,,, but it does happen.
I suggest too, that to litigate this issue will certainly take more time, and money, than you might want to spend, for a toothbrush or comb that went down the toilet,,,(just an example)
His responsibilty certainly is to allow that plumbing functions properly. The likelyhood is that if in fact thare is blockage in the toilet,,,He isn't responsible.
How can you solve this? Do you want to spend money on researching any possible causes not directly related to the toilet,,,such as poor sewage draining elsewhere?
His responsibility too, might be,,, and you don't state this,,, is to adjoining tenants and their apartments.
Also, not knowing the percentage he asks for, you can negotiate, and include in that, removal of the toilet to check for an internal blockage. If there is none, then you might consider some agency that deals with landlord/tenant relations.
Rev. Steven
2006-09-29 05:03:25 · answer #1 · answered by DIY Doc 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would consider it this way:
You might have contributed to the problem if someone in your household dropped something down the toilet. If the landlord or plumber has evidence (eg a sock or washcloth), then you could be made to pay for 100% of the plumber's service call.
If you know for sure that you did not cause the problem, then tell the landlord that you want to see the plumber's diagnosis. (Realize that the landlord called & paid the plumber, so the plumber is not exactly a neutral party.) It is entirely possible that if the drain pipes are old they could tend to get clogged, especially if the plumber has been called to clear the pipes before. You could ask that of the plumber if you went to small claims court.
But also be aware that if you fight the landlord he or she could ask you to move out in 30 days (if you are on a monthly rental agreement) or refuse to renew your lease when it expires. And the landlord could still take it out of your cleaning deposit, by inflating some other expense unless you ask for itemized receipts - and even with that approach, he/she could still hide the increase somewhere in those details anyway.
So do you want to fight it on principal? Or just be pragmatic and pay a 'fair share' -- at least you can try to negotiate that part. Your choice - how much money will it cost you to fight the battle, vs how much money are you talking about.
2006-09-29 06:10:24 · answer #2 · answered by Tom-SJ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure what state you live in but you could contact legal services and talk to them about tenant/landlord issues, there is no or very little cost involved. For whatever the reason behind the toilet not working it is the landlords responsibility to repair it and they can not deduct it from you security deposit. I have had the same issue before and it was the landlords responsibility. You can offer to pay a % if you feel you want to but you do not have to.
2006-09-30 15:18:59 · answer #3 · answered by francis 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
think of the honest element of do is chop up it. it is going to cost you lots extra to circulate. i'm no plumber, yet oftentimes a working rest room makes some noise. in case you had in simple terms moved in, i might say do not pay it, yet you have lived there a collectively as. I as quickly as rented a place and my water bill skyrocketed because of the fact of a leak in the back of the wall. My landlord needed me to pay or chop up it and that i refused. there became into no way i'd desire to have observed or suggested it, and the plumber sent sided with me. Had it been a working rest room, i might have paid. it rather is a not common call, yet i might say splitting the bill is honest. Or get a plumber's opinion.
2016-10-15 08:28:10 · answer #4 · answered by seelye 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the reason for the back-up was your use/misuse than I would agree with your landlord. However, if the cause was a blocked line in the yard, sometimes caused by tree root migration, then it is all on your landlord. I would find a third party plumber who could make the determination. Don't rely strictly on the plumber chosen by your landlord as he may have someone "on his payroll".
2006-09-29 05:20:10 · answer #5 · answered by Chip 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how responsible you were in getting it clogged. If it's a clog from environmental things, or mechanical reasons, he should fix it without question. If you have a child and he deposited legos in the toilet and flushed it, then the landlord is being kind in just holding you to paying half.
2006-09-29 05:49:08 · answer #6 · answered by jodi_a_limes@sbcglobal.net 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whose fault was it that it backed up? If you put something down it then I think your landlord is being more than generous in paying part of the bill. If it is because of his plumbing then It would be his problem.
2006-09-29 05:29:00 · answer #7 · answered by Thomas S 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should fight.....if you paid a security deposit that is supposed to cover those costs and actually the landlord is supposed to cover those costs especially if it is found that the plumbing or the toilet was faulty.
2006-09-29 05:02:30 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would fight because the landlord is responsible for stuff UNLESS negligence was the reason it got messed up.
2006-09-29 04:57:59 · answer #9 · answered by Franklin C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the landlord normally pays for the first time but the tennant should pay for any time after that, because it was his doing..
2006-09-29 05:02:53 · answer #10 · answered by lugar t axhandle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋