water pipe burst after tenant evicted. Property management didn't inform us

Real Estate Agent · Boston · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes

We are a small landlord in MA with a rental in Rhode Island managed Nexus Property management. So tenant owed us couple months rent and was evicted and property management went in and filmed the condition. They didn't tell us about the heat condition and such.Couple days later our handyman came in the check and found out heat was off, water pipeline burst due to cold weather. Can we ask management company to pay for the damage? Thanks!

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James Back

Rental Property Investor · West Chester Ohio · Member since 2019 · 44 posts · 45 votes

I would get this fixed asap and just chalk it up as a learning experience. Some cities have forms you can fill out that will automatically convert the utilities back into your name, so check with that first. You need to find out the root cause of what happened, did the utilities get shut off, if so was it before or after the PM was there. If it was before then you're Standard Operating Procedures with your PM needs to state they check the function of heating and air upon tenant move out and have a formal notice provided to you. Take this info and add it to your standard operating procedures for when a tenant leaves/is evicted. I thankfully learned this lesson in the middle of summer, but it did push my turnover back by a few days because of having to wait for my contractors to get in until the utilities were turned back on.

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Bill B.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
2y
Aren’t you in charge of the utilities? Why was the heat off? I have “landlord” accounts here in Vegas that automatically switch back to my name when the tenant stops paying or closes the account.
Unless your PM pays your utilities I don’t see how it’s their fault? Because They didn’t send you a reminder email saying don’t forget, your evicted tenant isn’t paying for heat so remember to put it in your name to keep it on…
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Blais Walker
Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 1 vote
2y
Hey Yang, you'll need to review your agreements with your property management company. Also for legal advice I'd consult your insurance company for coverage and or a lawyer if needed.
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Yang Zheng
OP
Real Estate Agent · Boston · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes
2y
Thank you for the advice.Will check the agreement with management and also insurance policy. We didn't know heat was off. Management team came and shoot a video and just five days later we heard this bad news. Will remember to confirm with property management next time. This is a learning experience.
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Michael SmytheBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Metro Detroit · Member since 2023 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
2y
@Yang Zheng this is one of those issues that is rarely covered in the management contract.
Landlords complain about how long our contract is all the time, but we cover issues like utilities and resulting damages.
Check if the electric & gas companies that service your rental have "landlord protection" programs that will auto-flip utilities into your name in lieu of shutoff.
The only downside to these programs is during summer months when tenants fall behind on utility bills, you get stuck paying. So, make sure your PMCs lease covers this to allow penalty to tenant and is a lease violation allowing eviction. Make sure state & local laws also allow.

We set these up for our client as we won't put in our name to avoid nonpayment issues.
FYI: you could try opting into and out of these programs with the seasons, but if you expect your PMC to handle, expect them to charge for this. Also, the utility companies may not allow. EXAMPLE: in the Detroit area, the two utility companies require you to wait a year to rejoin the program if you opt out. Apparently, they don't want to deal with the extra required work either!
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James Back
Rental Property Investor · West Chester Ohio · Member since 2019 · 44 posts · 45 votes
2y
I would get this fixed asap and just chalk it up as a learning experience. Some cities have forms you can fill out that will automatically convert the utilities back into your name, so check with that first. You need to find out the root cause of what happened, did the utilities get shut off, if so was it before or after the PM was there. If it was before then you're Standard Operating Procedures with your PM needs to state they check the function of heating and air upon tenant move out and have a formal notice provided to you. Take this info and add it to your standard operating procedures for when a tenant leaves/is evicted. I thankfully learned this lesson in the middle of summer, but it did push my turnover back by a few days because of having to wait for my contractors to get in until the utilities were turned back on.
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Yang Zheng
OP
Real Estate Agent · Boston · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes
2y
James, thank you for the advice. Here is the timeline I have found: Tenant out: 1/15, Electricity off 1/15, management company sent us a walk through video on the 16th. Definitely a learning experience to always call utility company once tenants are out. We are checking with insurance company now.
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Yang Zheng
OP
Real Estate Agent · Boston · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 0 votes
2y
Quote from @Michael Smythe:thank you very much for this valuable insight.

@Yang Zheng this is one of those issues that is rarely covered in the management contract.
Landlords complain about how long our contract is all the time, but we cover issues like utilities and resulting damages.
Check if the electric & gas companies that service your rental have "landlord protection" programs that will auto-flip utilities into your name in lieu of shutoff.
The only downside to these programs is during summer months when tenants fall behind on utility bills, you get stuck paying. So, make sure your PMCs lease covers this to allow penalty to tenant and is a lease violation allowing eviction. Make sure state & local laws also allow.

We set these up for our client as we won't put in our name to avoid nonpayment issues.
FYI: you could try opting into and out of these programs with the seasons, but if you expect your PMC to handle, expect them to charge for this. Also, the utility companies may not allow. EXAMPLE: in the Detroit area, the two utility companies require you to wait a year to rejoin the program if you opt out. Apparently, they don't want to deal with the extra required work either!

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