Taking Advantage Of Students
Thanks for taking the time to read this, but I have a HUGE problem and am unsure of what to do.
The toilet in our rented condo clogged up and somehow the water started leaking through the roof in the unit below us. Our landlord says that we have to pay for the damages that "we have caused" because it was a mistake on our end. These damages include taking out the ceiling of the unit below us and replacing it. He believes we threw things in the toilet that we should not have done. This is absolutely NOT TRUE. He is calling a plumber to decide who's fault it is. He says that if the toilet is clogged and caused the leaking problem, then it is our fault. However, if the leak happened because of the main pipes, then the Association is responsible. We want to go to court because it is completely unfair for us to pay anything when we did not do anything wrong! This EXACT situation happened last year to the tenant before us and the person in the unit downstairs is suing my lanlord and the Condo Association, while my lanlord is also suing the previous tenants.
It's deja vu.
We are first-time renters, fresh out of the dorms in college.
What is our first course of action? Thanks in advance.
The first thing you should do is collect all the documentation that you have for the work done on the ceiling. (Why were you doing extensive work on something you dont own?)
Then talk to the people who are also involved in a legal dispute with the landlord. See what they are doing, if they have had any progress.
After that, do some research on the landlord, find out his personal history and weither or not this has happened with another tenant, possibly in another state.
Who hired the plumber to look at the toilet? Was it you or the landlord? If it was not you, tell the landlord immidiately that before the plumber comes you would like your own professional there for a second opinion.
Good luck!
-Peter
The first thing I'd do is look at the lease I signed to see what my responsibilities are for repair. The Condo Assn may have a high deductible on items they are responsible for repairing which means that your landlord (or then perhaps you) would have to shell out a few $$$ if the deductible amount is higher than the cost of repair. Going to court can be expensive unless you intend to represent yourself in a small claims court or landlord/tenant court proceeding.
I would want to be there when the plumber does his thing and determine the cost of repair.
Dear WestLA,
We have this type of problem all the time since we have 14 condos. Our lease reads "anything inorganic" being flushed down the toliets will have to be paid for by the tenant. That is a polite way of including many items ladies especially are sometimes guilty of flushing down.
Having said that, we pay the bill ourselves most or the time. It's just easier all the way around. We don't get into petty altercations with tenants over such matters. We don't have the time, and we've discovered water can flow up and down and sometimes sideways in condos. It can get really weird.
Whatever you do, avoid court. Can you go to the complex manager - not your landlord- but the person who manages the whole property? Our complex has an onsite manager who works for the company that manages the "outside" and the grounds of the buildings. Of course, that person has to answer to the assoication which can sometimes operate like the communist central committe. But by and large, the complex manager will at least listen to your grievance. I'd go to him first. (A word of caution: I'd avoid the assoication). They're not very smypathetic to tenants. We purposely positioned my brother on our assoication board . He's been serving for 15 years. He's popular with the other homeowners and always gets re-elected, thank goodness. That's our way of protecting our investment. Your landlord probably has such allies also. So beware. There are a lot of politics.
Cordially,
Alice