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Old 08-17-2011, 11:22 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,868 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi

I recently moved to private condo on 12 months leased. Last month there was major accident where bathroom roof collapsed due to leakage in toilet in upstairs apartment and all the toilet water spilled in bathroom.

My wife was due next day which forced us to look for new apartment and have to pay more rent.

I been asking condo owner to compensate inconvenience and the tension caused due to this accident and asked to pay back last months rent.

However condo owner is not agreeing to it and she is refusing to give any compensation.

In such cases what option do I have

Thanks
zk
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Old 08-18-2011, 05:02 AM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,710,891 times
Reputation: 26727
Google your state landlord tenant laws for a start to see whether the damage caused uninhabitability. If you had a second bathroom to use and the one which suffered damage could be closed off until repairs could be made then you have little chance of being compensated. If any of your personal possessions were damaged then your renter's insurance would cover those. If this does end up in court then don't bank on being compensated for inconvenience and "tension". Presumably your LL released you from your obligations under the lease agreement?
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Old 08-18-2011, 08:33 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, Texas
3,503 posts, read 19,889,611 times
Reputation: 2771
Read the lease. There should be a clause that addresses incidents that make the apartment unlivable. Rarely does it include anything more than end of lease.
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Old 08-18-2011, 09:19 AM
 
912 posts, read 5,261,975 times
Reputation: 2089
You said yourself. It was an accident. It doesn't seem to be malicious, nor negligent.

These things happen.

Also, as per your post, it seems that you moved right away. That doesn't give the landlord any time to make things right.

I couldn't possibly imagine any judge issuing you a "tension" and "inconvenience" pay day given the way this was handled by you.
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Old 08-18-2011, 05:12 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,868 times
Reputation: 10
Its true that it was accident but for as a tenant should it cost me? Due to this accident I have to go for new home with higher rent, all the cost involved in moving and since I have to take days off from work to search and move to new home.
My argument was Owner is having home insurance to cover his expenses but for me I have to pay out of my packet even though I have nothing to do with it.

I asked owner at least give back non-refundable deposit but he is not agreeing to it.

Thanks
zk
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Old 08-18-2011, 05:48 PM
 
2,059 posts, read 5,749,627 times
Reputation: 1685
It's not a deposit if it's non-refundable.

You should probably just consult an attorney, because it doesn't sound like your former landlord is going to give you anything without being forced to by a court anyway.
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Old 08-18-2011, 06:04 PM
 
4,918 posts, read 22,684,013 times
Reputation: 6303
Unfortunetely what I think is causing you all the problems is:
You had a serious issue that may have come down to if habitable which almost every state has rules regarding this to protect a tenant, but based only on what you wrote, you acted outside all the protection the laws give you. If you didn;t follow the rules for this situation, you probably will not only not have your depsoit back, but could find yourself on the hook for additional months of rent. It could be compounded because as times goes by and you still don;t try to salvage some of your protections, you are digging a hole deeper and deeper. At some point this whole thing can end up before a judge with money on the line and if you are just going off on your own in the way you wanta nd not following what you are suposed to do, judge may just side (or may be forced by the law) completely with the landlord and you can be out a lot more maoney than you think. I hope you have at leasted started the formal process and not just winging it.
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Old 08-18-2011, 06:19 PM
 
Location: A little suburb of Houston
3,702 posts, read 18,216,670 times
Reputation: 2092
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZebraKross View Post
Its true that it was accident but for as a tenant should it cost me? Due to this accident I have to go for new home with higher rent, all the cost involved in moving and since I have to take days off from work to search and move to new home.
My argument was Owner is having home insurance to cover his expenses but for me I have to pay out of my packet even though I have nothing to do with it.

I asked owner at least give back non-refundable deposit but he is not agreeing to it.

Thanks
zk
You should always have renter's insurance.
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Old 08-18-2011, 06:49 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,090 posts, read 82,988,469 times
Reputation: 43666
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZebraKross View Post
Due to this accident I have to go for new home with higher rent...
Did you?
Or is that the approach to the problem (leaving) what YOU chose to do?
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Old 08-18-2011, 07:22 PM
 
4,399 posts, read 10,672,655 times
Reputation: 2383
Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagojlo View Post
It's not a deposit if it's non-refundable.

You should probably just consult an attorney, because it doesn't sound like your former landlord is going to give you anything without being forced to by a court anyway.
Most judges agree its the other way around. It's not non-refundable if its a deposit.
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