tenant charging us with hotel bill.. after AC went out

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tenant charging us with hotel bill.. after AC went out

Jaison Emmanuel
Investor · Missouri City, TX · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 19 votes

Over the weekend, the HVAC went out on the townhouse I own in TX. an AC repair man showed up 1 am to fix.. but didn' have the parts. Anyway, it got temp fixed on Sunday.  But the guy sent us a bill for the hotel hs stayed at for sat/sun; without notifying if it was OK

so the Q to ask.. are owners suppose to pay for their hotel bill if they cant stay in the rented place, in this case.. the AC going out?

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
7y

Tell him that this is something his renters insurance will cover.  Oh, you dont have renters insurance? You should really consider it for situations like this, as this is one of the specific things it covers.

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  • Russell BrazilBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
    7y

    Tell him that this is something his renters insurance will cover.  Oh, you dont have renters insurance? You should really consider it for situations like this, as this is one of the specific things it covers.

    [email protected]301-893-4635Podcast Guest on Show #192
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    10Reply
  • Jaison Emmanuel
    OP
    Investor · Missouri City, TX · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 19 votes
    7y

    OK.. Great, thanks

    0Reply
  • Judy Parker
    Rental Property Investor · Closter, NJ · Member since 2015 · 884 posts · 722 votes
    7y

    OMG! How will they ever survive without air conditioning for a few days! (sarcasm). No, do not pay that bill. 

    5Reply
  • Scott Mac
    Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    7y

    Hi Jaison,

    If it were mine, I'd be ready to take appropriate actions in case he decides one-sidedly to "short the rent" by his bill amount.

    (your A/C man will go out at 1am--that's a good guy)

    Good Luck!

    3Reply
  • John Thedford
    Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    7y

    Don't pay it. His stay was not authorized by you.

    2Reply
  • Karl B.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    "so the Q to ask.. are owners suppose to pay for their hotel bill if they cant stay in the rented place, in this case.. the AC going out?"

    Nope! That's not how reality works. He chose to go to a hotel - you never agreed to pay it. If he doesn't pay you or shorts you post a notice on his door. 

    0Reply
  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    7y

    @Jaison Emmanuel in this case I would say no, only because you resolved the problem quickly. I would just caution landlords that under some circumstances you may be responsible for either rent reduction or reimbursement for alternate accommodations. Landlords are expected to fulfill an implied warranty of habitability. People die every year due to heat related deaths so depending on the time of year and length of time the AC is unavailable, a landlord may need to make accommodations.

    This is a great article from Nolo, which is a reliable source of legal information. If you have not read their series of books, I highly recommend. This is from their renters rights book:

    https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/renters-rights-book/chapter7-2.html

    Much of this is a grey area and really depends on how severe the issue affects livability. Landlords can also take steps to reduce the risk, short of paying for a hotel. You could drop off fans or portable AC units. Fast response, combined with steps to eliminate discomfort will show a pattern of landlord responsibility. Should it land in court, that will look favorable to the landlord. My rule of thumb is never force a tenant to deal with something that I would not expect my own family to deal with. Of course some people subject their own family to horrible things, so that is not always the gold standard, haha.

    4Reply
  • Enrique Morales
    Member since 2018 · 5 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    Russel Brazil's comment was genius. 

    0Reply
  • Matthew Paul
    Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    7y

    Make a copy of the bill , send it back and in Big Red letters ....................DENIED 

    1Reply
  • Jaison Emmanuel
    OP
    Investor · Missouri City, TX · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 19 votes
    7y

    Thanks @Joe Splitrock for the link.

    gonna read tenant rights article right now. 

    0Reply
  • Peter TverdovBusiness Member
    Developer · New Brunswick, NJ · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    I swear, the nerve people have sometimes...fantasy land is where some of these people live. 

    [email protected]732-289-3823
    1Reply
  • Lien VuongBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Boston, MA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    There are definitely situations where you would have to pay because the change in condition of the property but where they have presumably made that decision themselves I do not believe you would be liable for that large since this was communicated to you. If they press the matter you can speak to your insurance policy for this. 

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