i live in a 3 family house , i rent the first floor , the 2nd floor is empty , so what happened is that they didn't have heat or gas or anything , it was very cold and the heat pipe broke and i had a flood in my apartment. i lost my daughter's bed and i had to buy one. i thought that the landlord was supposed to make a deduction or something for the damages , but i am paying the whole month of rent..so i would like to know , if it was not my fault , are they supposed to cover the damage or not ..how does that work ?
2007-01-31 01:03:12 · 7 answers · asked by yaquese 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Yes, they are responsible for the damage they caused. You need to contact your local tenant/landlord association. They can fill you in on the local regulations, how to put your rent in escrow until the repairs are made, or how to notify your landlord of the needed repairs, give him an appropriate time frame to make them, and the consequence of not fixing them being that you will make the repairs yourself from the escrowed money until your loses are covered. There is a way that you have to do this to cover yourself so that he doesn't try to evict you for non-payment of rent.
PS, you're not "screwed" if you don't have a lease. There are laws in place to protect tenants and there is a tenant-landlord organization in every county in the US for tenants to turn to for help and to get pressure put on the landlord to comply with the law. It frees up a lot of courts and is free for you to use.
2007-01-31 01:22:14 · answer #1 · answered by GenevievesMom 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The damage should be paid by owners insurance as damage occurred from the unoccupied apartment. I hope you kept some records and took some pictures. You could simply ask the landlord to reimburse you. I would talk to him first before deciding to take him to small claims court. Do you have apartment insurance? Check your rental agreement if this is covered. Ask if you can deduct the bed from next month's rent. Good Luck :)
2007-01-31 01:33:12 · answer #2 · answered by kitchenchemist 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Owner of your building I'm sure has insurance which covers damages to the building itself, not your personal loss. Your renters insurance, if any would cover any of your losses. If you do not have renters insurance, than yes, you are responsible for replacing "your" damaged items. For example, if the carpet has been damaged due to the broken pipes, that is the "building" and would be replaced by the landlord. If you had furniture on the carpet and the furniture was damaged, the furniture is "your" responsibility.
Depending on the state in which you live and the lease you signed, I would definitely re-read your lease to make sure there are/are not clauses due to "unforeseen circumstances".
Good luck to you.
2007-01-31 02:40:48 · answer #3 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when repairing the pipes and other stuff concerning the house / building itself the landlord should pay. But for the bed and other personel stuff he will not pay .
2007-01-31 01:23:26 · answer #4 · answered by MORTİCİA 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Weel you have a tough question. Read you lease. That way is the way you know who is liable. You should always get renters ins. You know it is only like $100 a year. But read your lease if you dont have alease. Your screwed.
2007-01-31 01:22:03 · answer #5 · answered by deogee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES, SMALL CLAIMS COURT... HOPE YOU LOOK PICTURES!
2007-01-31 03:16:26 · answer #6 · answered by Bonno 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i doubt it. that is what "renters insurance" is for; sorry
2007-01-31 01:42:07 · answer #7 · answered by mongo862001 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋