Tenant rights in a water damage possibly caused by his ngeligence (apartments, renters)

[mayakuec]

Hi
Possibly this has been discussed before. I live as a tenant in an apartment. The apartment issued a water shutdown notice and then 2 days later on the water shutdown day, i was taking a bath when the water shutdown. So essentially i forgot to close the tap but the outlet to the bathtub was still open. Later i got a call from the apartment that my apartment was flooded with water overflowing from the tub.

There are a couple of things i want to find out :-

a: i have experimented with the bath tub and as long as the bath tub outlet is open, the water flowing into the bathtub cannot fill it or cause it to overflow. I am pretty sure that i left the outlet of the bathtub also open but there is no way to prove it. Is this proof of my negligence since it can happen to anyone. I am pretty sure the outlet was open and hence it looks like the bathtub may have overflow due to some other defect in the tap which the apartment people are not telling me about since i wasnt at home when they discovered it. Can i be charged for my negligence ?

b: secondly my renters insurnace doesnt cover the damage to property of the apartment like water drying, dry wall repair ,etc. Will the insurnace of the house cover it or will i need to pay for all those repairs.

c: it looks although the damage is very minimal the apartment management is trying to remodel the whole bathroom including the tiles , bathtub etc. Can i challenge that
Any other help regarding my rights as a tenant is appreciated.

[zombocom]

Might want to find a plumbing forum, however, offhand... if the faucet was closed, and the tub over flowed, that would suggest the water had to come from the drain...

As for repairs, the tile might look fine, but if water got below the tiles, they may have to rip every thing out to replace what's behind them that got wet... You could call someone in for an estimate...

[mayakuec]

Thanks, just to clarify, i meant the drain/sink of the bathtub was open for water coming out from the faucet to drain off. So even if the faucet was open, there was no way the tub could fill unless i left the drain closed. But there is no way to prove that i guess.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by mayakuec

Thanks, just to clarify, i meant the drain/sink of the bathtub was open for water coming out from the faucet to drain off. So even if the faucet was open, there was no way the tub could fill unless i left the drain closed. But there is no way to prove that i guess.

I'm a landlord not a professional but even if the drain is open you it might fill up if the water is left on long enough and it runs fast enough. I'm afraid you may have to take care of this one. Maybe you could call a lawyer possibly because it sounds like this could be expensive. Good luck!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I'm trying to picture you taking a bath with water flowing into the tub, then the water shuts off. It's just so automatic to then pull the plug on the drain before getting out. Are you sure you didn't pull the plug or open the drain for the tub to empty out?

I was a property manager, recently retired, and I'm wondering if there wasn't some other reason the pipe didn't drain properly after they shut off the water to do whatever they had to do. When that was done in the old building I managed, there was often a problem with shower heads afterwards being clogged up with debris from the pipes that came loose when the water was turned back on.

Why did they shut off the water? Were the pipes not draining properly?

For a case of negligence, as I recall, you need to have a duty that you didn't do, and the result of not doing your duty, was foreseeable and directly caused by your neglecting to do your duty.

If you did, in fact, pull the plug on the drain, but forgot to turn off the tap, could you be sure that would result in a flood? Or did the flood occur because the pipes aren't draining properly and backed up? In that case, it wouldn't be completely your fault.

My advice is to wait and see what happens. Don't admit any fault. See if they hand you a bill and how much it's for. Then you can decide if you want to get a lawyer, or take the matter to small claims court where a judge can decide the matter (way cheaper).

If it was me, I'd stick to my story that I removed the drain plug, and if the system was working correctly, the water should have drained and not flooded - hence, not your fault, or at worst, only partly your fault.

If i was your judge, I would believe you if you said you automatically pulled the plug. I would. I can't imagine getting out of a partially filled tub and not automatically pulling that plug.

Additionally, it could be said that the LL had a duty to make sure the water was turned off in all the apartments after they turned it back on. It's certainly a reasonable assumption that somebody would forget to do it - or would be caught mid-shower when it got turned off, etc. I used to send a mass text to all tenants for that kind of thing.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Good luck to you.

[mayakuec]

Thanks @NoMoreSnowForMe, your arguments are very sound and helpful. The management is saying they have pictures of the tub with the drain closed and that is why the bath tub was overflowing and that is my fault although i dont believe that. I need to figure out now if the apartments insurance covers it whether their insurance is going to come after me or not.

[sonarrat]

Get a lawyer. Tell them nothing until you have his advice.

[ggcd951]

looks unfair to you. But look from an landlord's perspective, they are here to make money in renting and not going to like a what happened to your apartment and normal reaction from them is to have you pay. So I would not admit any guilt, if you have opened the drainer and if you know it can not fill up then stick to your story.
If it comes to the point where you have to go court, try to see if it is possible to reproduce the scenario again. Have the apartment to shut off the water and do the same again to see if it happens again.

[Fargobound]

If I were the property owner everything in that bathroom would get getting binned. With water damage it’s important to dry out the entire area or face the wrath of mold later on. Without pulling out the tub and vanity one is taking the risk that there could be something festering.

I hope for your sake it was a ground level apt.

[ebrooks]

Originally Posted by mayakuec

Hi
Possibly this has been discussed before. I live as a tenant in an apartment. The apartment issued a water shutdown notice and then 2 days later on the water shutdown day, i was taking a bath when the water shutdown. So essentially i forgot to close the tap but the outlet to the bathtub was still open. Later i got a call from the apartment that my apartment was flooded with water overflowing from the tub.

There are a couple of things i want to find out :-

a: i have experimented with the bath tub and as long as the bath tub outlet is open, the water flowing into the bathtub cannot fill it or cause it to overflow. I am pretty sure that i left the outlet of the bathtub also open but there is no way to prove it. Is this proof of my negligence since it can happen to anyone. I am pretty sure the outlet was open and hence it looks like the bathtub may have overflow due to some other defect in the tap which the apartment people are not telling me about since i wasnt at home when they discovered it. Can i be charged for my negligence ?

b: secondly my renters insurnace doesnt cover the damage to property of the apartment like water drying, dry wall repair ,etc. Will the insurnace of the house cover it or will i need to pay for all those repairs.

c: it looks although the damage is very minimal the apartment management is trying to remodel the whole bathroom including the tiles , bathtub etc. Can i challenge that
Any other help regarding my rights as a tenant is appreciated.

"secondly my renters insurnace doesnt cover the damage to property of the apartment like water drying, dry wall repair ,etc. Will the insurnace of the house cover it or will i need to pay for all those repairs."

Renters ins. should indemnify (pay) you for your losses, and cover potential losses resulting from your alleged negligence. That is why you buy insurance, to protect your economic interests. Talk to your agent.