Do I need to provide a hotel for tenants?

Question

Asking for some assistance for a newbie landlord here.  We recently had some ice dam damage which resulted in a leak to the master bedroom ceiling/dry wall.  i'm going to have to have a company come rip up the drywall, dry everything out and re-drywall/paint....I imagine that whole process will take at least a week.

The home is a 3br/2ba...their 2 children's rooms are unaffected and the couple in the master could move their bed/clothes to a "play" room downstairs or live in one of the two living rooms in the home.

Am I obligated though to put them up in a hotel since the master will be un-usable for about a week?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

They've only lost use of a small portion of the home. As Thomas said, it doesn't justify moving to a motel. I wouldn't move for it so I won't pay for my tenant to move.

Even if it did justify a motel for a few nights, that's the tenant's responsibility and that's why they should carry renter insurance. You should only feel obligated to pay when you are at fault. The ice dam is not your fault, unless you knew the home was prone to this issue.

Thomas S. · Answer

If it was your home what would you do. Would you move to a motel. Highly unlikely.

Have them move their bedroom and give them a rent rebate of $50. The rebate is only a token offer not actually intended to compensate them for anything.

Michael Gefvert · Answer

You need to check your lease and relevant state statutes and case law on the matter but typically in a situation where the home is still habitable you would reduce tenants rent by the reduction in value of the property, which is likely substantial when going from 3br/2ba to 2br/1ba.  Being proactive here would be helpful-- you could offer to help move your tenants belongings from the master bedroom to whichever room they choose to set up in temporarily.  I would move everything out, drywall dust will get into anything left in there.

Al Williamson · Answer

Hello Jeff,

I wouldn’t put them in a hotel but I would reduce their rent.

Mike McCarthy · Answer

I wouldn’t talk about rent reduction or discounts unless they bring it up. Be apologetic, work with them to get it fixed quickly, then move on.

BUT I would give them a $50 or $100 Amazon or grocery store gift card after it’s all done and thank them for their patience. Same cost to you (minimal), but shows them you do care.

Bryan O. · Answer

@Jeff Duford my lease specifies that I do not provide alternate housing in this type of scenario. @Nathan G. is right that this is something their renter's insurance should cover. The damage of their goods and any alternate housing is covered from their own end. I require renter's insurance for exactly that type of reason. I would give them a rent rebate for the loss of use of that room based on time and square footage (i.e. if the sq ft is 20% of the home, and it's down for 1/4 of the month, it would be 5% of their monthly rent paid back to them (not a discount, but returned after they pay on time as expected). if it's $1000/month rent in this example, that's $50.

Do I need to provide a hotel for tenants?

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