Hi folks,
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This comes from a close family friend of mine. Let's call her Karen for privacy's sake. Karen has a house which she rented out through an agent and all had been well (they moved in May 2017) until around December of last year when the tenant had a water leak in the house. As far as I know, Karen covered for the repairs and that was the end of that but then in May, the tenant made another complaint about the water leakage. The bill for that 2 months amounted to over $500 and the leakage led to mold growing in the basement (the mold is supposedly of the toxic kind) and demanded we cover their hotel costs for the duration of repairs.
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We later found out they never went to a hotel instead opting to stay with a friend or something, but afterwards, they still wanted to be paid for the hotel 'stipend' they would have had had they went to a hotel. To add to this, the tenant also brought up that the damages caused by the leakage from December had actually damaged all of their cash they stockpiled then and they demanded us cover for at least 30% of the lost cash (amounting to around $800). I think had this been more pressing they should have brought it up around the time when it happened.
- To calculate the total cost the tenant ultimately demanded for her to pay has amounted to around $3.6 grand.
- Here's the breakdown of their demand:
- $2300 (hotel costs for 17 days, which his family didn't go to any hotel)
- $500 (water costs for 2 months due to leakage)
- $800 (because they wanted us to cover a part of their lost cash)
- $300 (compensation for losing one day's work, this part was shot down)
- One free month from paying rent for all the "inconveniences caused to them"
- Total: $3600 (approximate)
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Eventually, the issue dragged on for a few more weeks and then the tenant threatened to sue her unless she fully complied with their demands. Now you probably think, if they sue so what, I'll sue back or whatever but the thing is, the tenant was a family with a mother expecting and three children. Our agent explained that the potential affects mold can have on children or pregnant wives can be life threatening and in court this can carry huge sway in their favor. In light of this, Karen for all intents and purposes, buckled and is thinking about abiding by their demands to the fullest extent. I've recommended against the action, but not knowing the legal process and complicated nature of these matters, I can't be of further assistance.
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Karen wants them to move out but a contract (which the agent never gave for her to sign) states a 90 day notice needs to be made to the tenant before you evict them. I know at this point it means there's literally no contract upholding this 90 day rule and if Karen so wished, she could possibly evict them by today (hypothetically speaking). I think Karen is just being sympathetic to their situation and it's understandable since they have a huge family, but I think if they have not paid that level of sympathy in kind, they should no longer expect any from Karen. They demanded to have one free month which the agent negotiated to 50% off for the next two months...yeah, I know.
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Needless to say, this problem is not one she wants to be tied down with, but at the same time I really don't want for her to lose a huge lump of money unnecessarily. For what it's worth, if I could describe her, Karen is of the extremely friendly, people-first type of person and I know this isn't the first time I've seen people take advantage of her kindness/softness/sympathy. I definitely get the feeling this is another one of those instances and truly wish to avoid that from happening again.
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I understand that as the landlord there is a responsibility to maintain the house, but I think some of the demands made were out of bounds. When the house was first given to the tenants it was inspected and maintained and most importantly, clear of any leakage or molds. I've got this gut feeling that sometime in between their stay, their own negligence brought us to where we are today, but I have no evidence of this other than a mere report stating the house was in solid condition just before they were handed the house. What are your guys' thoughts? Will she need to pay the $3600 or only part of it? Sorry if this was a lengthy read, I didn't really know what specifics should be shared or left private, but I think everything here is what I know so far. What are your guys thoughts? Will she need to pay the $3600 or are these tenants definitely taking advantage of her? Could it be possible that the mold be a product of the tenant's own negligence?
Thanks!
Submitted June 28, 2018 at 06:33AM by flyus747 https://ift.tt/2tKeZ5Z
