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Question:
I've read a few about flooding and a mojority of them says its not the responsibility of the landlord to pay unless its
His fault.
Here's my dilema:
It has rained and then snowed 10 inches and then rained again. I woke up Monday morning to a flooded basement.
Now, the gutter outside drains right next to my basement window. I looked at the window...its made
Of plexi glass, duct tape and a little piece of wood. The tape connecting the wood and the plexi glass has now worn out.
Previously my landlord created a new vent in the other window for the dryer vent but never covered up the other window.
There is no window well in either one of the windows and the gutter is just outside the window, tilted in
The dirrection of my window.
I lost everything I have in the basement and renters insurance doesn't cover it.
Who this be considered the fault of my landlord and not the weather???
Thanks
It has rained and then snowed 10 inches and then rained again.
I woke up Monday morning to a flooded basement.
I lost everything I have in the basement...
and renters insurance doesn't cover it.
Are you saying you have a renters policy **and** have already had a claim denied?
As to the rest... there are reasons that basement level apartments are cheap.
The risk of flooding is just one of them.
Condition and habitability is usually a local building code matter.
But there is probably no older property anywhere that will pass 100%.
And on top of it, I called my landlord on Monday and his response was "I can't get there tomorrow but maybe the next day but still not sure". I have mold starting to grow. I've never dealt with this before.
This isn't a basement apartment. Its a townhouse apt. All my storage was in the basement. I lost all personal property I.e; pictures, ss cards, kids birth certificates
I lost everything I have in the basement and renters insurance doesn't cover it.
Really???
I always thought one of the staples of renters insurance was to cover for floods, leaks and other types of water damage.
I'm not sure the landlord can be held responsible for rain or snow. If this was an ongoing problem in your basement, then you should have told your landlord to fix it, multiple times, via certified mail; and he ignored it, then yes, he could be liable.
If this was just "bad luck" that happened, meaning, the basement didn't flood every time it rained, you never reported it, and it "just happened", then its bad luck and the landlord shouldn't be held responsible.
Double check your renters insurance, it seems very odd to me that they wouldn't cover this.
They said it doesn't cover flooding. So yes it was denied.
(the flooding rider) is not part of my renters insurance.
[quote]I called my landlord on Monday and his response was
"I can't get there tomorrow but maybe the next day but still not sure".
Do you still have standing water down there?
Quote:
I have mold starting to grow. I've never dealt with this before.
Condition and habitability is a local building code matter.
Call the County for an inspection and maybe they will find something done by the LL that
(at some point in the future) you'll be able to use to assert a right to be reimbursed.
It's a PITA... but that's about the limit of what you can expect.
If the rest of the house is dry... get your storage items out of the basement.
Make reasonable and responsible effort to salvage anything of real value.
Document anything that's lost.
I'd suggest too that you take dated photographs immediately, documenting where the rain has come in, the drain outside the window, etc. as well as your soaked belongings, growing mold, etc. It may well come in useful for a claim either against your insurance company, the LL's insurance company or the LL himself. Suggest you also write to your LL (email will suffice for now) documenting what has happened and confirming that he's given you no specific time when he's going to take a look at the problem. Good luck.
PS: Next time, put all paperwork, etc. into tightly sealed plastic storage boxes ...
He doesn't live in a basement apartment but in a townhouse. The belongings were stored in the basement which flooded.
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