Tfields3006
Junior Member
New York State
My landlord got the sewer snaked/cleaned January 27th 2016. I am my family moved into the apartment around January 15th 2016. Since then there has been 4-5 issues with plumbing and it is only August. The apartment is a duplex, one of the 5 plumbing issues happened in my home. The bathtub & kitchen sink would not drain properly. All of the other plumbing issues had to do with the upper apartment which is another tenant. Pipes have burst in the upper apartment, and there has been a major leak from pipes down in the basement. For all of these issues I have video pictures and text messages from the landlord. Just this past Saturday I discovered gushing water from a hole in the basement. I told the landlord immediately and sent her a video of what was happening. She had to have a plumber come out right away and they discovered there were wipes clogging the sewer drain. The landlord immediately called my spouse and told him the plumber found baby wipes clogging the sewer line and we must have flushed them so we are responsible for the total cost of $290. In the lease it does state that the tenant is responsible for all clogs caused by placing things in a toilet that does not belong. The landlord walked through the upper tenants apartment and because they didn't see any signs of baby wipes she told her she will not be responsible for the cost. The landlord never asked 2 walkthrough my apartment to check for any signs of wipes. I spoke with the landlord and asked her how did she and the plumber come to the conclusion that these were baby wipes and not Lysol wipes or any other personal hygiene wipe. She couldn't 100% validate how these could only be baby wipes and therefore I questioned how only I was responsible for the full $290 cost. The landlord then mailed a receipt of the snake cleaning of the sewer on January 27th and the receipt for the cleaning of the clog just recently and stated that I and the upstairs neighbor would be responsible for $145 each. I feel like the cost is 100% the landlord's responsibility. Although she got the sewer drain cleaned January 27th I and the upstairs neighbor have experienced many faulty Plumbing issues since then. My family and I do not use any type of wipes in this house. If we owned any wipes I would pay the $145 because there could be the slight possibility that we were the cause of the clog ( even though I feel differently). However I know 100% sure that my family and I do not use wipes of any sort. The facts are that this home has had many Plumbing issues since January and it is not 100% that these wipes did not finally become an issue due to previous tenants. Can my landlord make me and the Tenant upstairs pay $145 because she feels either of us cause this issue without proof? The landlord is telling us that if we do not pay this costs within 10 days it will be taken from our security deposits. I feel, with the past history of this home plumbing issues, this clog could have still been there after she got the sewer line cleaned January 27th. I have no problem with paying for something that I have cost but I do have an issue with paying for something that the landlord should be taken care of. If my toilet was snaked and there were wipes, tampons or anything else found I will be paying my bill with no questions asked. However this situation is different. Can anyone advise?
My landlord got the sewer snaked/cleaned January 27th 2016. I am my family moved into the apartment around January 15th 2016. Since then there has been 4-5 issues with plumbing and it is only August. The apartment is a duplex, one of the 5 plumbing issues happened in my home. The bathtub & kitchen sink would not drain properly. All of the other plumbing issues had to do with the upper apartment which is another tenant. Pipes have burst in the upper apartment, and there has been a major leak from pipes down in the basement. For all of these issues I have video pictures and text messages from the landlord. Just this past Saturday I discovered gushing water from a hole in the basement. I told the landlord immediately and sent her a video of what was happening. She had to have a plumber come out right away and they discovered there were wipes clogging the sewer drain. The landlord immediately called my spouse and told him the plumber found baby wipes clogging the sewer line and we must have flushed them so we are responsible for the total cost of $290. In the lease it does state that the tenant is responsible for all clogs caused by placing things in a toilet that does not belong. The landlord walked through the upper tenants apartment and because they didn't see any signs of baby wipes she told her she will not be responsible for the cost. The landlord never asked 2 walkthrough my apartment to check for any signs of wipes. I spoke with the landlord and asked her how did she and the plumber come to the conclusion that these were baby wipes and not Lysol wipes or any other personal hygiene wipe. She couldn't 100% validate how these could only be baby wipes and therefore I questioned how only I was responsible for the full $290 cost. The landlord then mailed a receipt of the snake cleaning of the sewer on January 27th and the receipt for the cleaning of the clog just recently and stated that I and the upstairs neighbor would be responsible for $145 each. I feel like the cost is 100% the landlord's responsibility. Although she got the sewer drain cleaned January 27th I and the upstairs neighbor have experienced many faulty Plumbing issues since then. My family and I do not use any type of wipes in this house. If we owned any wipes I would pay the $145 because there could be the slight possibility that we were the cause of the clog ( even though I feel differently). However I know 100% sure that my family and I do not use wipes of any sort. The facts are that this home has had many Plumbing issues since January and it is not 100% that these wipes did not finally become an issue due to previous tenants. Can my landlord make me and the Tenant upstairs pay $145 because she feels either of us cause this issue without proof? The landlord is telling us that if we do not pay this costs within 10 days it will be taken from our security deposits. I feel, with the past history of this home plumbing issues, this clog could have still been there after she got the sewer line cleaned January 27th. I have no problem with paying for something that I have cost but I do have an issue with paying for something that the landlord should be taken care of. If my toilet was snaked and there were wipes, tampons or anything else found I will be paying my bill with no questions asked. However this situation is different. Can anyone advise?
