Gardener theft - is Landlord/property manager liable? (lease, tenants, rental)

[SierraSeaStar]

My rental lease for a single family house includes monthly gardening service. The gardener was hired by the Property Manager. The gardener stole my Green Waste Trash Can which Waste Management (a waste removal company) is charging me money to replace as it is technically their property and must be returned upon the closing of our account. Is the Property Manager responsible for her employee's criminal act? She refuses to even ask the gardener about it for fear that it would harm her relationship with him. She also does not want to replace the gardeners and hire new people although we've requested new gardeners because we don't trust these gardeners who already stole from us. She says that we are responsible for theft of our personal property but is she or the landlord liable for service people and repair people who steal from tenants?

Thank you in advance for all your advice!

[dmmjsm]

I would call the police to report the theft. If you cannot get the gardeners to return the can, then I would tell the landlord/Property manager that you have reported the theft to police, and that you hope they will provide cooperation to help get the return of the trashcan, since it was their choice in gardening services you were forced to rely on. Depending on the costs of the trash can, I would consider small claims court against the gardener also- but I would have to be completely certain they stole it before I went that far, and the can would have to outweigh the inconvenience and costs. I would also see if there is a tenant/landlord assistance agency in your city/town that could further assist you with this.

[tagylyn]

How do you know the gardener stole it?

[texdav]

No ;no employer is responsible fore her employyees crimes. Nior are they in civil court.Small claims can only get yoyu a judgement if you win and you have to enfirce it. Remeber that you have to be careful about slander especailly since he can sue if he loses his job or suffers business loss.I would not say anything unless you can prove it to the landlord. Let the police handle it.