Tenant responsibility for notifying us of damage?

My wife and I had a tenant in our 3rd floor apartment for a little over a year.  She just moved out, and when checking the apartment we noticed a significant amount of water damage in the roof access “closet” in her apartment.  Apparently the roof leaked and caused peeling paint, some of the drywall to disintegrate, warping in the boards around the roof hatch and some mold.  She used this roof access area as a storage closet for her cleaning supplies with our permission, and we assume used it regularly because the apartment was in great shape otherwise. Is she responsible for notifying us about the damage?  It looks like it has been there a while and happened over several different occurances judging from the different stains, and we are pretty unhappy that it got to that point without us being able to address it sooner.  Does she have any responsibility for notifying us in a timely way?  Can we keep some of her security deposit?

woodjem

in Landlord 12 years and 2 months ago

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elbow | 12 years and 2 months ago

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Don’t feel bad.  We had someone on the top floor of our co-op who had a number of roof leaks he neglected to mention to the board for over  a year.  Unbelievable….

Bklnite | 12 years and 2 months ago

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One more opinion: No, you can’t keep some of her security deposit. The security deposit is there to cover damage caused by the tenant not damage caused by your leaky roof. If she had left the roof hatch open during rainstorms, that’s different. With future tenants keep the lines of communication open, as others have suggested. And if you went for over a year without  inspecting your roof you might want to think about checking on things periodically rather than assuming a tenant is responsible for notifying you.

curiositykilledthecat | 12 years and 2 months ago

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Going forward, you might try our approach.  There is nothing in our lease, but upon move in we describe to the tenant that we don’t live there, and that it’s our job to make sure they are comfortable and that their home is in good shape.  We ask them to err on the side of caution when it comes to telling us about issues, especially in the beginning.  We find there is a settling in period wherein we are able to be responsive, but to also set expectations.  Communication is key, and setting up a free-flow of communication from the start is a great strategy. Put another way, instead of including punishment language in the lease (you better tell me or you will be in trouble!), we talk frankly from the start, inviting them to just please keep us informed. NB: this brilliant approach was developed following an incident in which our garden-level tenants had sewage back up into their laundry room.  “Well, the drains have been really slow for the last few months, but we didn’t want to bother you with that…”

ejalbk | 12 years and 2 months ago

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I have a paragraph in my lease rider related to leaks of all sorts. There are tenants that can have a missing washer in a faucet that causes water (often hot) to pour out 24/7 and say nothing about it. People are weird, some will complain about every little issue and others will report nothing. As leaks can cost money and do damage, make it clear in your lease that tenants should notify you of any type of leak whether from a roof, a wall, faucet or waste pipes.

BobMarvin | 12 years and 2 months ago

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Se rented a summer house in Vermont for several years and I was always dilligent about reporting any maintanence issues, but I’m a homeowner who is aware of such matters. You can’t expect such awareness from an inexperienced renter.

berniceshola | 12 years and 2 months ago

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You would need to have had specific clauses dealing with the tenants responsibility of notifying the landlord that there were problems (and I’ve never seen/used such a clause.) You definitely aren’t entitled to any of the damage deposit. Your one recourse, if you’re angry enough to exercise it, is to mention the incident in any letter of recommendation the tenant ever asks you for. But probably the smartest thing to do is make them aware of the damage so they know to say something next time.

ILuvDeadNimbys | 12 years and 2 months ago

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Another reason why she didn’t say anything is she probably didn’t want to come off as being a needy, high-maintence renter; one who complains about every-little-thing. (i.e. paint peeling, caked paint and dust, chipped wood trims, water damage, and etc.)

Bond | 12 years and 2 months ago

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For what it’s worth, I totally agree with Eman.

woodjem | 12 years and 2 months ago

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Thanks.  I didn’t think she had responsibility for the condition of the roof.  But isn’t there some kind of responsibility for notifying us of damage to the apartment that she would be the only one aware of?  We have no way of knowing about the leak unless she reports it to us.   She was aware of it, and didn’t tell us.  I can chalk it up to the pitfalls of allowing someone else to live in our space, but it seems she should have some responsibility for telling us in a timely manner about damage that is ongoing to the apartment that she is renting from us.  I wouldn’t think of charging her for the repairs to the roof, but it seems there should be some protection as a property owner from a tenant not reporting ongoing issues.

eman134 | 12 years and 2 months ago

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this is solely your responsibility as a landlord… she bears zero responsibility for the condition of your roof