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I'm vacating an apartment unit. I received a call from the management company on Thursday afternoon informing them that they had to enter my apartment because the neighbor below me had reported flooding. They asked me if I had seen any water in my unit, to which I replied "no". I wasn't home when maintenance came in, but I was informed that the source of the leak came from the AC unit that is located in a utility closet outside of my unit (tenants don't have access to it, but the door to it is on my balcony), and that they were "happy that my unit had not been impacted". I came home that evening and ran a quick mop under the furniture near the utility closet wall (vinyl floor) and it came back dry. I figured that was that.
This weekend, I moved my furniture out. I had a couple of extra dining room chairs against the wall that borders the side of the balcony with the utility closet/AC unit. When I moved those chairs, I saw that the vinyl flooring had become discolored, as if there was mold or mildew underneath the floor. There is no water damage on the wall or on the furniture. It does not appear that at any point there was ever any water on the floor. This was fairly recent, since I had moved the chairs 2 weeks ago to mop and would have noticed discoloration at that point. My assumption here is that this was caused by the same leak that impacted my neighbor below.
I called my management company this morning to give them a heads up (the office was closed for non emergency calls by the time I discovered it this weekend). Even though I won't be completely out of the unit until June 30, I am sure they'd want a head start on repairing this for the next tenant. There response was that I didn't notify them early enough and they may be charging me for the repair.
So to the landlords out there - do you think it sounds like something I should be held liable for?
No, I don't think that's on you. They knew about the leak, came into your apartment - and should have checked everything at that time. You mopped up, and didn't see any more damage.
From what you've written, I don't see how this could be your fault.
I guess, just wait and see what they do. But, if they do contact you again with another we "may" charge you, as if they're feeling out how you would react, I think you should say you don't believe this is your fault, that their maintenance guys came in and should have checked everything at that time, before any further damage could occur. Make it sound like they were the negligent ones. Maybe they'll leave it be, if they think you'll fight it.
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