Landlord or tenant at fault? Dishwasher not working (detailsbelow
Hi! New to this community but would love insight from those who have more experience (understand it is not a legal opinion, but looking for those who may have similar experiences).
Our tenants recently reached out about their sink filling up with water after using the dishwasher the night before, overflowing onto the floor a little. We jumped into action within an hour, getting a plumber to take a look. Ultimately the plumber discovered it was a building pipe blockage (we are in 3-unit building, we are on ground floor so the pipe affects us first). The plumber flushed out the pipes and all seemed ok.
However, the tenants have reached out again saying that the dishwasher has been showing an error since. The error seems to indicate that water is not flowing properly. The tenants are saying they think it's because of the pipe/plumbing issue. I called the plumber, who said it was already showing that error / broken before he started fixing. He said we should find an appliance guy but he is saying it is not his fault. Unclear who is not telling the whole truth here (we'll try to find out).
But if:
1) the dishwasher was broken before the pipe was being fixed - I assume this isn't the landlord responsibility? The tenants signed a conditions report when they moved in and signed off on a working dishwasher
2) the dishwasher truly was showing this error only after the plumbing issue - i'm still confused on whether it is their responsibility or ours to follow up with plumber / find an appliance guy if the plumbing company refuses to admit their fault.
Would appreciate any advice. We can seek more legal advice but think it is a relatively low cost issue.