I just received a call from my tenants and they notified me that the gas was cut off due to an earthquake valve being activated. I spoke with the gas company and they said that either one of the tenants could have bumped/hit the gas meter or a large truck could have driven down the street and activated it. There will be an $80 fee for the gas company to come and turn the gas back on. I am curious if this is a fee that the tenant would pay as the utilities are in their name or is this a fee that i should pay out of my pocket? This is a duplex property and only one units gas valve was activated located in Wilmington CA.

Thank you for any help or advice.

Devin

Hi Devin,

I just went through an earthquake that was 4.4 in LA last week and it was big enough that a bookshelf was close to falling over, but my shut off valve didn't trip. Can't imagine a truck driving down the road would do something unless it hit the thing. I did a little research and it looks like there are instructions online on how to re-set it. (A turn of a screw) The Gas Company here recommends sending someone out, but they recommend doing that for every appliance that's connected to gas.

Good luck whichever route you take. If you have the gas company do it, I'd for sure give the tenants a warning and tell them they're paying for it if it happens again outside an earthquake.

I'd look for the instructions on line and reset it myself

I have received these fees before and I have never been able to figure out if someone bumped the EQ valve or if it was just the "large truck" they speak of.

I usually just pay the fee because I don't want the tenant being incentivized to try to fix it himself and possibly break it next time in an effort to avoid the fee, but i suppose you could tell the tenant to suck it up and pay it.