Rental Property?

Question

Hi.. I just became a landlord and have an issue where my tenants damaged by place ($6k worth of damage). My insurance is covering all but 1,100. The damage was caused by a in proper installation of THEIR washer on the second floor. What steps do I need to take to claim the money for the damage. The tentants have said they are not responsible. Thanks.

If I sue, do I sue not while the tenants are still living there. They have close to 6 months left on their lease. I'm concerned they could damage the place further.

The tenants did the installation of the washer and dryer themselves.

Answer 1

It depends on who did the installation. If the improper installation was the cause, whoever installed it is ULTIMATELY responsible.

If THEY hired that workman, THEY are responsible to YOU. The workman is probably responsible to THEM, but you are NOT required to go directly to the workman.

But you can.

Here's what you might do to avoid litigation:

You send the tenants a letter, dated and certified. In it, tell them that between the two of you, they are indeed responsible, and that you fully intend to get the opinion of a judge in small claims court if necessary, and give them deadline of five days from receipt of this letter to provide you with copies of all documents relating to the installation, including receipts, invoices, cancelled checks, and phone numbers relating to the purchase and installation.

Write that company directly, again certified and dated, and explain your position as owner of the property, include copies of the material you got from the tenant, your repair bills, particularly showing where the fault was in the installation, and your insurance check. (If that sounds like a lot of trouble, realize you'll need all of that in court anyway). Tell them that they have until you recieve the return receipt for the letter to respond to you. Remind them that if they choose to be sued over your claim of $1,100, it's likely that the insurance company will join you as a plaintiff in any lawsuit for the amount they already paid you.

If you get the green card back in the mail before they call, file in small claims court, against both the tenant and the workman, and call your insurance company to see if they are interested.

Answer 2

Do you have their security deposit? And if so is it more than the damage? I would then sue for the difference between what you need to pay and what they gave you in security. Say you have $500 in security, keep that and sue for $600, and add on some for the time you spend cleaning, working with you insurance company ect. Sue for $3,000 or so. The actual cost to you of the damage and for the time you spent.

--Edit--
I see, they are still living there, I assumed this was after they left. Well you still have the security, but if that doesn't cover the damage you can wait until they more out and sue.

Or, more than likely putting the washer in was against the lease. Obviously without seeing the lease I wouldn't know. If you had an attorney write the lease there is definately a clause that they cannot bring in large appliances, washer dryer, fridge ect. Or even if you had a used a generic lease whether from a kit or online it probably has a clause like that in there. So in short, if there is a clause about appliances or specifically a washer, you should be able to get an eviction notice for breaking the lease.

After the eviction notice there will be a hearing where they can contest the eviction in which case a judge will uphold the eviction, but in my experience the judge will try to find a way to keep them in the apartment and keep you happy. In most cases that involves a plan to pay the rent on time and pay back rent, since non-payment is the most common reason for eviction. In your case the judge may ask them to pay for damages or atleast payment plan for damages and if they don't pay he will evict. Every county and state has different laws so you should check with your local courthouse.

I am not a landlord, but I have been involved in eviction before, I sub-let from someone who had a lease, I was paying him half the rent, and he was buying drugs. We got evicted, I went to court and explained to the judge what happened, and he worked out a settlement where, if I can pay the landlord going forward for the full rent he won't evict me, and the guy on the lease would be responsible for all back rent. So they want to work with both parties.

I added 2 landlord/tenant message boards who might be able to more specifically answer your questions since they are more likely experts than any of us are. Good luck.