Piece of garage ceiling fell on tenants car

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Piece of garage ceiling fell on tenants car

Adriel Watts
Dallas, TX · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 0 votes

Apparently a disposal got blocked in my rental.  It got backed up and caused a piece of garage ceiling to fall.  Tenant claims car was damaged got estimate stating 4800 in damage.  Tenant is asking for reimbursement.  How do I proceed?  My insurance deductible is 5k.   Should I ask the tenant to get a second quote?  

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Greg M.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
6y

Was the backed-up disposal in this tenants unit? If so, they caused that and therefore, they caused the damage to their car. Tell them to contact their renters insurance policy. 

Unless it is an expensive car or a massive piece of ceiling, $4800 sounds very expensive. I've been in car accidents that were cheaper than this. 

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  • Greg M.
    Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    6y

    Was the backed-up disposal in this tenants unit? If so, they caused that and therefore, they caused the damage to their car. Tell them to contact their renters insurance policy. 

    Unless it is an expensive car or a massive piece of ceiling, $4800 sounds very expensive. I've been in car accidents that were cheaper than this. 

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    6y

    It sounds like you need more investigation. I assume what you mean here is the disposal was backed up and so water that went down the sink leaked out the piping somehow (under the sink?), eventually flooding the drywall with enough water that it gave way and fell on the car. 

    Questions:

    1. Generally a disposal back up should just back up into the sink. For it to leak under the sink enough water to conceivably leak through the cabinet floor and past the subfloor and then into the drywall (and maybe past the insulation, if there is any) would be either something leaking for a very long time or a massive leak. 

    2. What were the actual damages to the vehicle?

    3. Did the vehicle belong to the unit that had the back-up or someone else?

    4. How does the person know that a backed-up disposal caused the damage? If it was a structural issue - meaning something wrong with your rental, rather than something that was wrong because they were negligent - were you notified or otherwise had any idea something was wrong?

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  • Carmichael Lewis
    Chicago · Member since 2019 · 75 posts · 49 votes
    6y

    Have them contact their insurance company and file a claim, but you pay their deductible. Might be cheaper than $4,800.

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  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 31k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Adriel Watts:

    Apparently a disposal got blocked in my rental.  It got backed up and caused a piece of garage ceiling to fall.  Tenant claims car was damaged got estimate stating 4800 in damage.  Tenant is asking for reimbursement.  How do I proceed?  My insurance deductible is 5k.   Should I ask the tenant to get a second quote?  

     What does your lease say in regards to this? You using a PM or did you have an attorney draft a lease for you? In most all situations a properly drafted lease is going to include a liability waiver for you in regards to situations like this. If you don't have something like this in your lease you need to get one immediately. In addition put it in writing that you either require or strongly suggest that tenants get renter's insurance for things like this. Then in cases like this going forward all you'll need to do is tell them you're sorry for their luck, fix the issue then encourage them to seek reimbursement from their insurance provider.

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  • Jason BottPro Member
    Insurance Agent · Nationwide · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Adriel Watts:

    Apparently a disposal got blocked in my rental.  It got backed up and caused a piece of garage ceiling to fall.  Tenant claims car was damaged got estimate stating 4800 in damage.  Tenant is asking for reimbursement.  How do I proceed?  My insurance deductible is 5k.   Should I ask the tenant to get a second quote?  

    #1 this would be a General Liability claim under your policy.   There is typically not a deductible for General Liability claims, the Property deductible of $5k would not apply.  Check your policy to be sure.

    #2 to keep pricing on the up and up, tell the tenant that they need to file with their Auto insurance first, then your insurance company will deal directly with their Auto insurance company to settle the claim.  this way your insurance company can push back against your tenants insurance carrier without you looking like the bad guy.

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  • Scott Mac
    Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    6y

    Wet drywall caused $4,800 in damages to a car--WOW.

    Hail can damage a car, but its very hard and falling in small balls.

    Maybe it's a Mercedes SL convertible with the top down, that might be expensive, but the exterior of cars are made to take some severe weather.

    Wet drywall seems like it would be heavy, but more like a wet piece of cardboard than hail.

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  • Kenny Dahill
    Investor · Tempe, AZ · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 731 votes
    6y

    @Adriel Watts, sounds like not all the scope is shared.  My thoughts:

    • Who caused the block?  Tenant (car owner) or another units tenant?
    • What damage was done to the car?
    • Is it cheaper to pay the claim through their car insurance?
    • Did they have renters insurance?
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  • Adriel Watts
    OP
    Dallas, TX · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    Thanks for all the responses.  

    So I have a property Management company. When I contacted them.. It appears the garbage disposal was an unrelated issue.  Apparently the "sheetrock was old and secured with nails.   The nails came loose overtime"

    Looking through the lease. I found a few clauses.  Under Indemnification " owner not liable for damages....to property occurring on premises unless it is a proximate result of intentional or unlawful act of owner."  " Tenant agrees to hold owner harmless from any claims, no matter how caused unless it was a proximate result of intentional or willful acts of owner."

    Under Insurance "tenant to provide own insurance for possessions both inside and outside of premises.   Tenant Acknowledges they are responsible for providing insurance for their possessions or vehicles and owners insurance will not cover tenants possessions or vehicles. This includes Flood, fire or any other cause."

    My PM company said tenant should turn in the damage to their auto insurance and the owner should also file a claim through their homeowner insurance. From there, the two insurance companies would handle everything and determine who is liable/pays for repairs.

    Should I do this?  My Deductible is higher than the stated damage to the vehicle anyway, but i really dont want to be stuck paying that amount of money. It would negate pretty much all the positive cash flow for a year.

    Thanks for your help.

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