Rental Property Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Got a call from a tenant telling me that a blade on her ceiling fan flew off and almost hit her. I apologized but went silent when she said she wanted to be compensated for the mishap. I told her we would talk about it later.
I am willing to replace the fan with a new one but I don't feel good about paying a penalty for injuries that didn't happen. What should I do? Pay a little to make the issue go away or find a lease loophole.
I really don't want tenant to stay - but I want to be fair.
Definitely don't pay her anything. If you do, she might see it as a potential way to get money from you in the future.
Just tell her since the fan blade almost hit her that you decided to almost pay her.
Seriously though, she's probably just seeing what she can get out of you. I think a new fan is a fair way to resolve the issue and the most I would do for her if she were my tenant.
I'd tell her to take a flying leap. It didn't hurt her. You didn't climb up on the fan and throw it at her. Things happen. Of course you are in California, so you never know what will happen. It is a very lawsuit happy state. Contact a lawyer.
An excellent question for your insurance agent. I doubt they would cover the issue. What you can receive are tips for taking care of the situation.
It does sound like someone is trying to get free money. If there is no actual damage, physical or to her personal property, you should be on alert. Some tenants are professionals at working the system. Finding a quick end to the lease may be a great solution. My lease states if you are 1 day late, you are delinquent and I have the right to evict.
If it were me, I'd make it clear to the tenant that you understand the ceiling fan has "run the course of it's useable life" and ask what date might work best for tenant to allow entry for replacement. I would not bring up the compensation request at all.
If tenant brings it up however, I would explain that "after discussing the situation with your attorney, since no one was hurt and there was no property damage, replacing the defective appliance is all that's needed to bring the living space back into compliance with the high standards of safety that you strive for in all your units." Also, remind her that many of your units don't have the luxury of ceiling fans and that if it makes them feel safer, you'd be happy to install a flush mount light fixture instead.
If they do decide to act against you, it's out of your hands anyway but I think if you put it this way they'll think twice about crossing you. Afterall, you DID fix the problem and and give them choices.
Be careful in states where by statute a complaint followed by a 'quick end to the lease' can be construed as Retaliatory Eviction.
As for the fan, the tenant wants to be compensated? I think first you need to find out why hte fan blade flew off. Was this the result of tenant neglegence? Ask for the tenant's renter insurance policy information. That's where the claim most likely should be.
I would tell this woman that a cop went speeding through a red light and ALMOST hit you. You called the police station asking for money and they laughed at you and hung up the phone. Maybe she will get the message.
In the future, I would make sure there are no ceiling fans. My house is full of ceiling fans, but my rentals have none. This is exactly the kind of thing that could happen. An $8 light fixture works fine and will have no problems. I tell all tenants who ask about ceining fans that they are welcome to put them in at their own expense, but they need to store the light fixture somewhere so it can be put back on when they leave.
Ask her if somebody was tampering with the hardware. I have a number of ceiling fans in different locations, and the motor usually dies, or a switch fails; never had a blade fly off. The closest thing I had to that was when a tenant moved out in summer with the fan on, and they hit the fan blades with their furnishings and knocked a chunk off a blade.
Absurd, so if I almost get hit by a car, I can sue the driver? I would replace the ceiling fan as it seems as though it has run it's course and let her know that since she was not injured ,she is not entitled to any compensation and you have no proof that someone in her household didn't tamper with it.
Definitely don't pay her anything. If you do, she might see it as a potential way to get money from you in the future.
Just tell her since the fan blade almost hit her that you decided to almost pay her.
Seriously though, she's probably just seeing what she can get out of you. I think a new fan is a fair way to resolve the issue and the most I would do for her if she were my tenant.
we had one like that once
she had one of those Insurance coverages that paid her cash every time she went to the hospital etc.. She often wanted us to verify her injury occurred at the home...no way!!!
we were very glad to see her eventually move.
Al Williamson if it's legal in your state, you may want to consider recording that call to cover you in case she starts to change her story and decides to sue you at a later date. Ask her to tell you again what happened and have her clarify that she was not injured. Then break the news that the incident doesn't qualify for compensation since she wasn't injured.
Google voice, as well as several free apps for mobiles, allow you to record calls.
Have not seen this particular scenario before...interesting. You know the lady that sued McDonald's because she spilled the hot coffee on her lap...the other day I almost spilled coffee on my lap and I think it would have burned my had that happened, you think I should sue?
Geez, stuff almost happens to me daily, my lawyer better free up his schedule!
You know the lady that sued McDonald's because she spilled the hot coffee on her lap...
totally off topic, but the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit is often used as the poster child for frivilous lawsuits. The facts of the case are much more intersting as they demonstrate a culture of corporate neglect on the part of McDonald's. There were internal memos from McDonald's over the previous decade stating that they knew their coffee was caused damage at the temperature served but it was easier to pay these cases off when they occured than make a change. The woman was in the hospital for eight days and originally wanted her over $10,000 hospital bill covered but McDonald's would only agree to pay $800. If she wanted any more money beyond that, she had to sue.
totally off topic, but the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit is often used as the poster child for frivilous lawsuits. The facts of the case are much more intersting as they demonstrate a culture of corporate neglect on the part of McDonald's. There were internal memos from McDonald's over the previous decade stating that they knew their coffee was caused damage at the temperature served but it was easier to pay these cases off when they occured than make a change. The woman was in the hospital for eight days and originally wanted her over $10,000 hospital bill covered but McDonald's would only agree to pay $800. If she wanted any more money beyond that, she had to sue.
http://www.caoc.org/index.cfm?pg=facts
Interesting Bill. I am the first to admit I do not know anything about that case. There is a documentary about it on Netflix but I never have cared enough to watch it.
Here's an update (I typically don't have any tenant issues, so this is kind of amusing). The tenant left me a string of text messages accusing me of making her feel uncomfortable and hinted that I had inappropriate interest in her 3 yr old daughter. The texts indicated that tenant may have a mental disorder. She continued to text me even after I asked her to stop. I'm talking five long messages without me responding.
My one time response was that my wife would be her point of contact going forward and to stop texting me.
So I shared the messages with my wife, copied them for my files, file an online police report documenting the accusations/harassment, and had my wife write the tenant a letter.
The letter granted tenant permission to move out upon a 30 day notice (she's got 9 months left on lease) and gave her a Google Voice number to call to get a hold of my wife. Thank God Google Voice records and transcribes.
Looks like I'm headed for an eviction, but at least I'll have plenty of documentation. Guess I can't win them all.
I'm curious. How long does your average tenant stay when you do month-to-month leases from the beginning? I'd be concerned with a tenant moving out after a couple months, then I'd be stuck with the whole turnover process so soon...
Bryce Y. the length of the lease has very little effect on the time a tenant stays. I've had tenants stay two years with month to month leases, and both of the current ones have been there over a year. I have had one move after about eight months.
OTOH, I've had tenants with year leases just disappear in the middle of their lease. If a tenant with a long lease needs to leave, I'll get a run around about rent, have to wonder whats going on, discover they [i]appear to be gone[/], then deal with handling and abandonment situation. If I emphasize "you can leave whenever you want, just give me 30 days notice", such problems are reduced. If they need to leave, we can talk about it and do it in a controlled fashion, not just a midnight bug out.
For the landlord, though, a long term lease is binding. If the tenant is troublesome, but no so much as to be evict-able, there's nothing I can do. Bad dogs, too many residents, disturbances with the neighbors, whatever. I'm locked in. With month to month, I can give notice the lease is terminated. If they don't move, I have a solid case for eviction.