Landlord responsibility broken glass
My tenant says that her glass shower door shattered out of no where when no one was in the bathroom (this is the second time in one year). I do not know how glass breaks with no point of contact but that is beside the point. Last time I replaced the glass door. This time she request I just put in a shower curtain which is fine but is also requesting I send someone to clean up all the glass. Is that my responsibility? Would you send a cleaning lady or simply send your handyman to replace the door and expect tenant to clean up the glass?
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It should be safety glass meaning it shattered into a lot of small cubes that aren't sharp. She can sweep it up and do a quick vacuum. Go over with a broom, bucket (to put the glass in) and a wet dry vac (to vacuum the floor afterwards).
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I would not think a tenant would need to have this cleaned up for them. It's not a big deal. IS this tenant a PITA in other ways too?
Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:I wouldn’t call her a PITA she is kind but I do feel she makes requests I wouldn’t ever make if I were in her position. I feel it’s excessive to request I send someone to clean up (and she says she wants it done immediately). I did end up sending someone because I don’t want to deal with her whining but it might be my being so attentive that enables this behavior.
I would not think a tenant would need to have this cleaned up for them. It's not a big deal. IS this tenant a PITA in other ways too?
Quote from @Theresa Harris:
It should be safety glass meaning it shattered into a lot of small cubes that aren't sharp. She can sweep it up and do a quick vacuum. Go over with a broom, bucket (to put the glass in) and a wet dry vac (to vacuum the floor afterwards).
When I replaced the glass last time I special ordered a tempered glass that was supposed to be shatter proof but this glass shattered. She was complaining that she was stepping on glass for weeks last time, which sounds excessive to me, so I ended up sending a cleaning crew but I’m bitter about it.
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Safety glass can break if it gets hit on the side (ie the thin part of the pane).
So your tenant broke the shower door a second time in a year and you're wondering if you should send someone to clean it up? I think you have your priorities out of line.
Assuming that there is nothing that could be hitting the shower door, such as the door knob from another door, I'd go over and talk to your the tenant. Explain that how she is treating the shower doors is unacceptable and letting her know that the replacement cost will be billed to her. Don't let her give you any BS about how it broke spontaneously. We know that didn't happen.
I suspect that if you look around the unit, you will see other evidence that she is not treating it well.
And for clarity, no, I would not send someone over to clean it up. If she broke a jug of milk, would you send someone over to clean that up?
I've never broken a shower door. I have dozens of rentals with shower doors that have never broken. Some are decades old with dozens of different renters living there.
Two doors in one year by the same tenant? She must be slamming them open or closed.
I would not have cleaned it up. I would have charged her the second time. I would have removed the hardware and made her pay for a curtain rod and curtain. When her lease is up, I would not renew.
Glass shower doors have been known to shatter explosively: https://www.thespruce.com/glas... You may want to go back to whomever installed it as most indicators are that it results from damage during installation - that over time makes for quite a show. Send out a cleaner? No. The tenant can't live in the house with glass on the floor. What she really wants is your attention and some kind of compensation (like the cleaning). You owe her an apology for the inconvenience caused by a really rare event (just out of empathy) - but when you installed the shower curtain, that was the fix and an act of a responsive landlord. You may want to let her know that while it is an unfortunate event for both of you, there are some simple and safe ways to clean up glass (tons are on the internet) which include:
6 Ways to Clean Up Broken Glass Safety and Effectively
- Damp Paper Towel. Fold a few pieces of paper towel, dampen, and then gently press down on the pile of broken glass.
- Bread. ...literally, a piece of sandwich bread pressed down on the floor will stick to the glass particles.
- Potatoes. ...
- Tape. ...
- Vacuum. ...
Hope this helps...
I would switch to curtain rods and call it a day after the first time. My handyman removed the glass door and bracket hardware within 10 mins so it is easy process. I had the gaudy gold glass doors back in the 90s so the curtain rod was actually an upgrade at that point.
Quote from @Nikoo N.:Ya think?
I wouldn’t call her a PITA she is kind but I do feel she makes requests I wouldn’t ever make if I were in her position. I feel it’s excessive to request I send someone to clean up (and she says she wants it done immediately). I did end up sending someone because I don’t want to deal with her whining but it might be my being so attentive that enables this behavior.