Negligence/Willful Misconduct - Dealing with a stupid tenant
We rent a garage apartment on the property we occupy. The building was finished in April 2014 and our tenant moved in right after. All has been well, young tenant in grad school, quiet no complaints. We had not been in the place except twice for the AC filter.
May 2nd I noticed staining on the garage ceiling, I'm in there all the time and this was the first sign. A boom handle goes right through the drywall. Tenant is not home. We could not get ahold of him so we entered the unit. He was last home 24hrs previously yet the bathmat by the sink was still wet. There are clear signs of water damage on the floor at the edge of the tub and subtle water stains on the outside edge of the tub showing water running down the sides.
Builder and Servepro both conclude that the tenant was not using the shower curtain correctly. Builder also notes that he had swapped the shower head for a junky version that sprays everywhere but is aimed at the back wall. Builder easily recreates water issues for all to see. Tenant acknowledges not making an effort to dry water though says he never noticed any. He did say he does not pick up his bathmats. From the underside you can see there as been moisture before
This is our first rodeo so after getting the builders opinion and servpro we went ahead and called our insurance. We go denied due to "wear and tear" we are still fighting that. We are now attempting to pursue his rental insurance. Our lease speculates that the Tenant is responsible for all damages. but our insurance requirement for him is only renters property. We also have a subrogation clause releasing him even from negligence unless it is gross/willful misconduct. While he only has to have renters he does have 300K for "Personal Liability - Property Damage" on his policy.
Repairs are underway, though there was a 4 day gap in time where servpro was done but our repair guy was not able to come do the drywall. Tenants father (not on lease) made a comment by email today about loss of use claims against us and tells us he does not think we are allowed to pursue the tenant renters policy. He also very clearly blames us for having a wood plank floor in the bathroom ignoring that any floor would likely have had issue. We are currently looking for an attorney, but one of my collegues recommended this forum as a place to ask questions. I would love any insight. I really just don't understand where personal responsibility falls in all this.