Tenant Deposit. Water Damage. Negligence?
I am a new real estate investor. I just had my first tenants moved out after renting my first unit for 15 months. A few months ago, they reported water damage. By the time I was notified the whole master bedroom laminate floor was ruined. They blamed it on the bathroom shower doors not being installed correctly. This happened after they lived in the apartment for 13 months. After they moved out, we realized the water damage covered the whole master bedroom (16 ft), so I have to replace the whole floor. I have not given them their deposit back. My rental home insurance does not cover tenant negligence. We have sent plumbers and restoration companies and the conclusion is that it was the tenants negligence. The tenants is blaming me for not having the doors installed correctly. The plumber that went to help 2 hours after they reported the incident said said they had wet towels on the floor and that he believes the bathroom doors had fallen and they installed them back incorrectly. Not sure what to do to prove that their negligence is going to cost me more than their deposit. I don’t think they should get their deposit back. Any advice and/or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Hi @Daniella Hernandez, sorry to hear this has happened to you!
I would make sure to document everything and keep as much of the info you provided on hand.
Did you provide them with any sort of rental condition checklist when they moved in? If not I would definitely suggest this moving forward. Helps verify that you both acknowledge the condition of the rental upon them moving in.
Also, do you require them to have renters insurance?
You could always present all the information you have to them with a repair invoice attached showing the damages and that you will not be giving the security deposit back on the account of this.
You may get lucky and they may just agree to just move on.
If you have a lawyer that you work with I would also run the scenario by them.
Hope this helps!
Yes, we did a move in condition form.
Yes, I required them to have tenants insurance, but I believe they stopped paying it after first month. Lesson learned!
Thank you for commenting and advice!
Quote from @Daniella Hernandez:
I am a new real estate investor. I just had my first tenants moved out after renting my first unit for 15 months. A few months ago, they reported water damage. By the time I was notified the whole master bedroom laminate floor was ruined. They blamed it on the bathroom shower doors not being installed correctly. This happened after they lived in the apartment for 13 months. After they moved out, we realized the water damage covered the whole master bedroom (16 ft), so I have to replace the whole floor. I have not given them their deposit back. My rental home insurance does not cover tenant negligence. We have sent plumbers and restoration companies and the conclusion is that it was the tenants negligence. The tenants is blaming me for not having the doors installed correctly. The plumber that went to help 2 hours after they reported the incident said said they had wet towels on the floor and that he believes the bathroom doors had fallen and they installed them back incorrectly. Not sure what to do to prove that their negligence is going to cost me more than their deposit. I don’t think they should get their deposit back. Any advice and/or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
It's negligence, period. Even if the doors were installed incorrectly, they should have reported water on the floor rather and given you the opportunity to correct the problem rather than letting it sit on the floor. Surely they saw the damage occuring and didn't report it.
Replace the floor, apply their deposit, then send them a bill with a demand for payment within 30 days. If they fail to pay, take them to Small Claims court or write it off.
Thank you for taking the time to write your advice. As a new tenant, I want to make sure I am fair and reasonable. Your comment helps me validate the fact that it was negligence. Thank you!
