Broken Window Payments

[Taylor Beal]

Hi All, Had a section 8 tenant who says that a child outside on the street (not her child) shot a beebee gun at a living room window, and the window is cracked. How would you handle this? Do we replace and charge the owner? Do we tell the tenant it is her responsibility? Do we tell the tenant we will replace it but charge to her? The tenant says she called the police and filed a report. Thanks in advance for the input!

[Kyle J.]

Broken windows are usually the owner’s responsibility unless you can prove the tenant caused the damage. In this case, it doesn’t sound like you can prove that the tenant caused the damage, so it’s going to be on the owner to cover the cost of the repair. 

Additionally, since it’s a Section 8 property, I’d recommend getting it fixed before the next inspection because a property could be failed for a broken window.