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I am the landlord. The townhouse is in a gated community but the area is sketchy and I have repeatedly reminded my tenant to keep the gate between carport and back patio locked. I have provided a padlock and twice have caught the gate without the lock and have had stern talks with this tenant about keeping the place secured. All the neighbors have padlocks on their gates and its very obvious if the gate isn't secured with a padlock.
Today I got a call from the tenant in tears. She was in a "hurry this morning and did not put the padlock on the gate." The townhouse is a crime scene and my tenant will need to find another place to stay for a while. One of the neighbors got into a fight with another neighbor and shot him and then was fleeing thru the parking lot on foot and flung open the unsecured (dang!!!!) gate and bashed into the townhouse crashing thru and shattering the french doors. Soooo glass everywhere, french doors destroyed, and the tenant is displaced.
The police are boarding up the back doors to secure the "crime scene". The neighbor who was shot died.
What is my responsibility?
you are not responsible for the criminal action .Basically the gate has little to do with shooting or the resulting damage sounds like. Here it would be red cross who helps those with loss of housing in such a case. Also tenant can carry insurance to cover temporary housing cover in such case as well as damages to their property and hopefully you do yours.
I am the landlord. The townhouse is in a gated community but the area is sketchy and I have repeatedly reminded my tenant to keep the gate between carport and back patio locked. I have provided a padlock and twice have caught the gate without the lock and have had stern talks with this tenant about keeping the place secured. All the neighbors have padlocks on their gates and its very obvious if the gate isn't secured with a padlock.
Today I got a call from the tenant in tears. She was in a "hurry this morning and did not put the padlock on the gate." The townhouse is a crime scene and my tenant will need to find another place to stay for a while. One of the neighbors got into a fight with another neighbor and shot him and then was fleeing thru the parking lot on foot and flung open the unsecured (dang!!!!) gate and bashed into the townhouse crashing thru and shattering the french doors. Soooo glass everywhere, french doors destroyed, and the tenant is displaced.
The police are boarding up the back doors to secure the "crime scene". The neighbor who was shot died.
What is my responsibility?
Call a lawyer pronto. You have a lot more to worry about than a pair of French doors.
This is resolved. Townhouse is no longer crime scene and tenant is back in. I paid to have the doors repaired. Tenant took care of cleaning the place. Paying a lawyer would cost more than doing the repair and I have no liability for the murder of the poor neighbor.
This is resolved. Townhouse is no longer crime scene and tenant is back in. I paid to have the doors repaired. Tenant took care of cleaning the place. Paying a lawyer would cost more than doing the repair and I have no liability for the murder of the poor neighbor.
At the very least, I would invest in a key locking mechanism for the gate that automatically locks when swung shut. (and put a spring if it doesn't swing shut) They are cheap at the hardware store and easy to install.
This is resolved. Townhouse is no longer crime scene and tenant is back in. I paid to have the doors repaired. Tenant took care of cleaning the place. Paying a lawyer would cost more than doing the repair and I have no liability for the murder of the poor neighbor.
You weren't liable from the get-go.
Your tenant is a grown adult who was negligent in keeping the gate locked. You're not responsible for providing a lock or for making sure the lock is being used. That's the choice of the tenant.
No need to post a sign, change your lease or install a special lock...you can't regulate stupid.
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