Being Sues???

Question

All I need you help and advise. I have a tenant that has about 6 months left on her lease.But there has been nothing but problems since she moved in.

Before she moved I replaced the hot water heater with a new one. So on the day the tenant moved in..guess what ..it does not work. Since it was new it was under warrenty> I called the company up and after 2 days they agreed to replace the hot water heater with a new one.

At the same time the a/c stopped working. I had the a/c company come out to repair but they had to order a part. so that took 2 days to fix..

Then 3 months later..guess what? The heat goes out. I was informed of that by the tenant Friday evening. Since it was cold out I wanted to make sure the tenant had heat but everyone I called had to order the part. So I had a total of 3 companies come out before I someone on Sunday to repair the heat.

So a few weeks after that the tenant complained that there was no heat downstairs. The Hvac company came out and did something to the dampers..problem solved right...nope..tenant claimed it is still not hot enaough. HVAC guy said there is nothing else I can do. So tenant is complaing that home does not heat downstairs. Please keep in mind that there is a fireplace(gas/wood) downstairs that tenant refuses to use. So now the tenant has refused to pay rent...What can I do? I was already told that the heat will not balance downstairs.

A few days after that..guess what? During the freeze a water pipe burst...the tenant does not have renter insurance and now decides to sue me.

Oh I forgot to mention that I had a police report made out on the tenant due to being verballiy abused when I met the plumber out for the repaid. Things were so heated I had to leave.

So now I get court papers that the tenant is suring me for $10,000 for inhumane living conditions.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Always remain calm and professional.  Don't let fear paralyze you.  Whether an issue is real or perceived, it must be addressed.

I used to work in hospital management in the risk management and patient relations departments.   When people complained, we would listen carefully and make sure they knew we heard the complaint.  Then we would offer reasonable resolution and do a follow-up to make sure the issue was addressed.

If the person threatened to sue, we would calmly say "Do what you feel you need to do."  Rarely would there be follow-through on their part.  If they did sue, we called our attorney.  Always document well and be especially diligent in doing so with problem people.

You will need to demonstrate good faith effort, show you acted prudently and responsibly and provide proof that the unit was habitable.  You may want to go to the court house and listen to a few court cases in your jurisdiction to get an idea of what to expect.  You can learn a lot that way.

George Paiva · Answer

Outside of these legal issues.

I would seriously get a contractor and do a full walkthrough of the apartment.  I don't want to sound or seem like a pain but you should really ensure all systems are a go day 1.  Get everything looked at electric, plumbing, etc... get it all in writing by licensed contractors.

Hope it all works out.  Good Luck.

Rob K. · Answer

This lawsuit sounds completely frivolous, but I would suggest that you lawyer up.

Account Closed · Answer

If you have a decent lease, it should include a provision that the tenant cannot use any alleged problems with the condition of the house to offset rent. Read it. Judges hear these types of complaints from tenants all the time and typically aren't that impressed. File a counterclaim for the rent owed. Worst case, you should get a set-off of the amount of unpaid rent against any damages the judge finds you owe (which don't sound significant).

Colleen F. · Answer

We also have regulations that it has to be able to  heat to 68 degrees minimum in all habitable rooms or something along those lines.

Brian Mathews · Answer

If you are in heating mode and the air coming out of the vents was 66 degrees, you have a problem.  If it's 70 in the house and in heating mode, you should be running air in excess of 100 degrees depending on the type of heat you have. You will typically have a 30-50 degree rise in temperature from whatever the temperature in the house is.   If you are cooling and it's 70 in the house, you should have air coming out around 50-55 degrees.   You should have a 15-20 degree drop from what the temperature in the house is.

George Paiva · Answer

Can you insulate the ductwork?  Is there access to it?

Also ask about putting a electric heater Baseboard or Wall with a thermostat that is locked onto 65 whatever the legal heat limit is or at least has the inability to be shutoff.

Gail S. · Answer

All

Just a follow up on this matter.

The insurance company did have an agent come out and agreed that I was not responsible for the damages so they are paying to repaid MY property. I also had another contractor take a look at the heating system. The air heat was blowing through the vent at 66 degrees and the thermostat was set at 74. I am not sure if this is an issue since heat rises. The room downstairs still felt warm. As I stated earlier the duct work was already done. According to the contractor that is nothing more that I can do.

Any thoughts or suggestions???

Raymond B. · Answer

@Gail S.,

To make the @ work, do the following:

Hold down the shift key and type @?

Look below this Window, and you will see a list of names of people that have posted in this thread.

Click on the name of the person that you want notified via an email, that you responded to them.

If you are a Colleague with anyone that has NOT posted in the thread, and you want them to see your post, hold down the shift key and type the first 4 letters of their First or Last Name.

Then look below this Window and click on that person's name.

Raymond

Jerry W. · Answer

I would definitely get an attorney first thing.  Then go through your lease very carefully as it should contain things like you need to insure your own property we do not.  I am very surprised you had pipes freeze in Georgia.  A very cold snap there must be unusual and so the pipe break might be attributed to an act of god not negligence.  If she refused to use a heat source in the house when told it was available maybe you need to counter sue for the damaged pipe, if she had used the fireplace there would not have been a broken pipe.  Keep in mind every state has different landlord/tenant laws so getting a local attorney who knows this area is very important.

Being Sues???

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