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    Question Is a Tenant Liable for Damage From an Overflowing Toilet

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Washington

    We are the landlord of a small condo. Our last tenants rented the condo from 6/2015 to 7/2016. When they moved in, the toilet was running fine and they didn't complain.

    HOA called us early May 2016 and let us know that the unit below us had some water damage in the ceiling. We called our tenants and they said the toilet was constantly running and overflowed one night. HOA sent a plumber to check the damage. The plumber didn't find any leakage from the toilet except the descriptions by the tenants. Tenants authorized the repair without informing us (we were assuming that the plumber was just checking, didn't know the plumber was actually repairing).

    Now that we received the bill from HOA and the tenants claimed that our toilet was constantly running and it was a pre-existing condition. They refuse to pay the very high water bill and the repair fee for the unit below. However tenants didn't inform us about the toilet being constantly running before the water damage happened.

    In our lease, we wrote explicitly that we should be informed about anything that need repair and they need permission to repair. We also include the clause that tenant is responsible for the repair themselves and they agreed to the clause.

    Are they responsible for the water bill and the repair fee then? Our property is located in Washington State and they have moved to California State, can we still sue them in WA King county?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Is Tenant Responsible for Toilet Overflow if They Didn't Inform the Land Lord

    Your tenants would be responsible for both the water bill and the repair issue (and it is unlikely that a running toilet would be the cause of an overflow; a clog is the reason).

    However, since your tenants have now moved to another state it is going to be more difficult to sue them over this matter (I'm assuming you have already returned any security deposit they have provided).

    Gail

  3. #3

    Default Re: Is Tenant Responsible for Toilet Overflow if They Didn't Inform the Land Lord

    Quote Quoting gail in georgia
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    Your tenants would be responsible for both the water bill and the repair issue (and it is unlikely that a running toilet would be the cause of an overflow; a clog is the reason).

    However, since your tenants have now moved to another state it is going to be more difficult to sue them over this matter (I'm assuming you have already returned any security deposit they have provided).

    Gail
    Thank you so much for your response.

    Quote Quoting adjusterjack
    View Post
    Yes.

    But if you didn't take it out of their deposit, good luck getting it.

    By the way, why is the water bill in your name (if it is)? Should always be in the tenant's name.


    A: Our HOA system cannot change the water bill's name to non-owner's name unfortunately.......





    No, you have to sue them in California.

    Sorry, but if you want to keep being a landlord, you are going to have to expect and budget for these things like I did when I had my rentals until I got rid of them and never looked back. Tenants never give a crap about your property. Trust me, it'll happen again, no matter what your lease says.

    PS: If you have a unitowners's policy I suggest you notify your insurance company of the downstairs damage in case the downstairs neighbor makes a claim against you.

    Thank you for your good advice. It is our first time being a land lord. So much need to learn.......

    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    I don't necessarily see the tenants as liable for the repair to the unit below. The tenant would have had to be negilgent to be liable. Without knowing why there was a clog and if that actually caused the damage would have to be determined prior to determining whether the tenants might be liable, or even you as the owner of condo as well.

    As to the repairs of the toilet: that's on you.

    The water bill; this repair was in Mayan the tenancy ended at the end of
    june and you did not know of the water bill and the tenant refusing to pay before they left?

    I suggest the tenant has a reasonable argument they would not be liable for the increased cost of the water bill if the toilet was not leaking the entire time. You should be able to determine about when the leak started by comlaring
    the water bills. If there was not a month where it elevated above where it had been, its likely the leak was always there and I would hold the tenant liable for
    the bill. If you can discern when the leak
    started, the first month or two (the increase only) would be on you.
    Our HOA's water bill and repair bill didn't come until 2 months after my tenants moved out . During our lease, the HOA was changing the water bill company so we didn't get bills for a long~~~~~ time and we didn't know it was that expensive........ And when we got the bills, it was already that high every month so I assumed my tenants was using a lot of water. I paid the bills and assume in good-faith that my tenants will pay them but they refused........ So the toilet was indeed constantly running and they didn't tell us.


    So can we fight against HOA for the water bill and repair fee then if the responsibility is not clear? The plumber didn't find any leakage to cause the water damage downstairs. It was the tenant who told them that the toilet overflowed and then the plumber assumed that was the cause. Sadly we have paid the bill already since it was under our name.

    The tenant claimed that the toilet was constantly running 2 months after they moved in but they never let us know. So I guess that is their responsibility?

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    A lawsuit over a Washington lease and Washington rental unit can be filed in a Washington court. The issues that arise are the service of a defendant in another state, and the collection of a Washington judgment against a defendant who lives in another state.
    I can find a local process server to serve him and get a collection company to help me with the bill?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Is a Tenant Liable for Damage From an Overflowing Toilet

    Quote Quoting jk
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    I don't necessarily see the tenants as liable for the repair to the unit below. The tenant would have had to be negilgent to be liable. Without knowing why there was a clog and if that actually caused the damage would have to be determined prior to determining whether the tenants might be liable, or even you as the owner of condo as well.
    Although I agree that the tenant would have to be negligent to be liable for the repair to the downstairs unit, the question is not why there was a clog, but whether the tenant knew or should have known that the toilet drain was blocked. If you know that your toilet is running -- that is, that the valve isn't properly sealing the toilet -- then you also know or reasonably should be aware that your toilet is going to overflow if it becomes blocked. You either need to clear the obstruction or shut off the water.
    Quote Quoting jk
    I suggest the tenant has a reasonable argument they would not be liable for the increased cost of the water bill if the toilet was not leaking the entire time.
    If the tenant is responsible for the water bill, then... the tenant is responsible. If they reported that the toilet was running and the landlord failed to respond within a reasonable time, they might have a defense to reimbursing the landlord for the entire bill, but it appears that they chose not to tell the landlord that the toilet was running.
    Quote Quoting catcatchouchou
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    Our HOA's water bill and repair bill didn't come until 2 months after my tenants moved out
    Are you indicating that this is not a situation in which each condo has a separate meter with a public water utility, but is instead a submetering arrangement in which there is one meter with the public utility and privately managed submeters for each condo?

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Is a Tenant Liable for Damage From an Overflowing Toilet

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    Although I agree that the tenant would have to be negligent to be liable for the repair to the downstairs unit, the question is not why there was a clog, but whether the tenant knew or should have known that the toilet drain was blocked. If you know that your toilet is running -- that is, that the valve isn't properly sealing the toilet -- then you also know or reasonably should be aware that your toilet is going to overflow if it becomes blocked. You either need to clear the obstruction or shut off the water.

    If the tenant is responsible for the water bill, then... the tenant is responsible. If they reported that the toilet was running and the landlord failed to respond within a reasonable time, they might have a defense to reimbursing the landlord for the entire bill, but it appears that they chose not to tell the landlord that the toilet was running.
    a lot would depend on the size of the leak. In itself I would not blame an overflow on a clog plus the running. I can describe situations where it could go either way. I suspect the op would likely lose if a case was based on only what has been presented. Negligence has not been proven and it has to be for op to prevail


    something as seemingly odd as the age of the toilet could make a difference as old toilets used larger amounts of water and were more likely to overflow when clogged, regardless of a leaky flapper or not. A newer low flow toilet is less likely to overflow when clogged, even if there was to be a leaky flapper, unless the user failed to promptly deal with a clog.


    as to liability for the water bill; if tenant was aware of the leak and failed to inform landlord, it's on landlord. If tenant was aware of leak and told landlord, landlords negligence to repair is cause for high water bill and landlord owes. With the facts as stated I would put it on tenant. The only reason i
    suggested a different possibility is op stated toilet worked just fine upon move in. That, to me, suggested op believed leak was more recent which could change everything and depending on the facts, i could see everything going either way

  6. #6

    Default Re: Is a Tenant Liable for Damage From an Overflowing Toilet

    Quote Quoting jk
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    a lot would depend on the size of the leak. In itself I would not blame an overflow on a clog plus the running. I can describe situations where it could go either way. I suspect the op would likely lose if a case was based on only what has been presented. Negligence has not been proven and it has to be for op to prevail


    something as seemingly odd as the age of the toilet could make a difference as old toilets used larger amounts of water and were more likely to overflow when clogged, regardless of a leaky flapper or not. A newer low flow toilet is less likely to overflow when clogged, even if there was to be a leaky flapper, unless the user failed to promptly deal with a clog.


    as to liability for the water bill; if tenant was aware of the leak and failed to inform landlord, it's on landlord. If tenant was aware of leak and told landlord, landlords negligence to repair is cause for high water bill and landlord owes. With the facts as stated I would put it on tenant. The only reason i
    suggested a different possibility is op stated toilet worked just fine upon move in. That, to me, suggested op believed leak was more recent which could change everything and depending on the facts, i could see everything going either way
    For the first situation in the third paragraph, "if tenant was aware of the leak and failed to inform landlord, it's on landlord" do you mean it is on the tenants?

    "The only reason i suggested a different possibility is op stated toilet worked just fine upon move in. That, to me, suggested op believed leak was more recent which could change everything and depending on the facts, i could see everything going either way". I have the emails from the tenants claiming the the toilets constantly run since 2 months after they move in.

    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    If nobody can actually say what caused the damage you don't get to pin it on the tenant. It could be a bad wax ring (the seal between the toilet and the pipe) or
    even a damaged pipe as far as anybody knows. If the plumber didn't see where the toilet has overflowed enough to be discernible, I don't see how it can be determined it was the tenants negligence. Even a one time overflow shouldn't cause damage to anything below. If the floor is in good condition and properly
    sealed between the stool and the floor, it should not allow much, if any water to flow to the unit below.

    If it is a considerable amount of cost, i would suggest considering denying liability unless your HOA documents assign liability or negligence can be assigned.
    It added up to around 2K so it is not big but not too small either. Too bad we had send in the payment to HOA, can we stop payment to the check? What will HOA do? The bill's name is us not the tenants'

    We initially tried to dispute the bill with HOA, HOA then find our tenants and got their written proof saying that the water damage was caused by the overflowed toilet. So I guess the tenants put the blame on themselves..... Then we decide that we had to pay the bill to HOA first and go after the tenants.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Is a Tenant Liable for Damage From an Overflowing Toilet

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    Although I agree that the tenant would have to be negligent to be liable for the repair to the downstairs unit, the question is not why there was a clog, but whether the tenant knew or should have known that the toilet drain was blocked. If you know that your toilet is running -- that is, that the valve isn't properly sealing the toilet -- then you also know or reasonably should be aware that your toilet is going to overflow if it becomes blocked. You either need to clear the obstruction or shut off the water.

    If the tenant is responsible for the water bill, then... the tenant is responsible. If they reported that the toilet was running and the landlord failed to respond within a reasonable time, they might have a defense to reimbursing the landlord for the entire bill, but it appears that they chose not to tell the landlord that the toilet was running.

    Are you indicating that this is not a situation in which each condo has a separate meter with a public water utility, but is instead a submetering arrangement in which there is one meter with the public utility and privately managed submeters for each condo?
    For the water bill company, I am not sure whether it is submeter or not since the HOA changed the company last year. HOA was changing the water bill company during year 2015. HOA didn't send us any water bills for the whole year of 2015. They started to use the new company since Jan. 2016. And the first bill we got was around Feb/Mar. 2016. The bill was around $150 each month and we assumed the tenants were using lots of water........

    HOA waived all the water bills for all the homeowners in 2015 because they cannot figure out which unit used how much with the change in the water bill company.

    So is HOA responsible as well? Since the plumber didn't find the cause of the water damage. The plumber was told by the tenants that it probably because of the overflowed toilet and he accepted it as the reason.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Is a Tenant Liable for Damage From an Overflowing Toilet

    If nobody can actually say what caused the damage you don't get to pin it on the tenant. It could be a bad wax ring (the seal between the toilet and the pipe) or
    even a damaged pipe as far as anybody knows. If the plumber didn't see where the toilet has overflowed enough to be discernible, I don't see how it can be determined it was the tenants negligence. Even a one time overflow shouldn't cause damage to anything below. If the floor is in good condition and properly
    sealed between the stool and the floor, it should not allow much, if any water to flow to the unit below.

    If it is a considerable amount of cost, i would suggest considering denying liability unless your HOA documents assign liability or negligence can be assigned.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Is Tenant Responsible for Toilet Overflow if They Didn't Inform the Land Lord

    Quote Quoting catcatchouchou
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    Are they responsible for the water bill and the repair fee then?
    Yes.

    But if you didn't take it out of their deposit, good luck getting it.

    By the way, why is the water bill in your name (if it is)? Should always be in the tenant's name.

    Quote Quoting catcatchouchou
    View Post

    Our property is located in Washington State and they have moved to California State, can we still sue them in WA King county?
    No, you have to sue them in California.

    Sorry, but if you want to keep being a landlord, you are going to have to expect and budget for these things like I did when I had my rentals until I got rid of them and never looked back. Tenants never give a crap about your property. Trust me, it'll happen again, no matter what your lease says.

    PS: If you have a unitowners's policy I suggest you notify your insurance company of the downstairs damage in case the downstairs neighbor makes a claim against you.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Is Tenant Responsible for Toilet Overflow if They Didn't Inform the Land Lord

    Quote Quoting adjusterjack
    View Post
    No, you have to sue them in California.
    A lawsuit over a Washington lease and Washington rental unit can be filed in a Washington court. The issues that arise are the service of a defendant in another state, and the collection of a Washington judgment against a defendant who lives in another state.

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