DAMAGING TENANT

[No1damomma]

I rent a small mobile home next to me in Norhern Florida.
My tenant is on vacation and today my husband inspected the premises and found much damage.
Water has damaged the bathroom floor with the tiles coming and the floor wet and spongie.
The cover from the wall air conditioner has been torn off and the unit has been leaking water down the wall onto the floor. There is no filter on the air conditioner.
There is other minor damage but those are the two biggest ones.
Our tenant has a 1 year lease, with 6 months left to go. She gave us a $250 security deposit but my husband feels it will cost much more than that to repair the damage.
What can we do

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RLG

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by No1damomma:
I rent a small mobile home next to me in Norhern Florida.
My tenant is on vacation and today my husband inspected the premises and found much damage.
Water has damaged the bathroom floor with the tiles coming and the floor wet and spongie.
The cover from the wall air conditioner has been torn off and the unit has been leaking water down the wall onto the floor. There is no filter on the air conditioner.
There is other minor damage but those are the two biggest ones.
Our tenant has a 1 year lease, with 6 months left to go. She gave us a $250 security deposit but my husband feels it will cost much more than that to repair the damage.
What can we do

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Did you have a previous problem with the AC leaking? How old is it and is it a good one or a cheapie one? The tenant can not abuse it, but you as the L are required to fix and maintain it, if it is faulty. The tenant should have notified you that there was a problem. Either there is a leak in the appliance or the condensate drain is leaking into the home instead of draining to the exterior. If the plywood subfloor is spongy, then my opinion is that there was a preexisting problem with the appliance leaking.

Get the problem fixed and talk to the tenant later.

 

[No1damomma]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by HomeGuru:
Did you have a previous problem with the AC leaking? How old is it and is it a good one or a cheapie one? The tenant can not abuse it, but you as the L are required to fix and maintain it, if it is faulty. The tenant should have notified you that there was a problem. Either there is a leak in the appliance or the condensate drain is leaking into the home instead of draining to the exterior. If the plywood subfloor is spongy, then my opinion is that there was a preexisting problem with the appliance leaking.

Get the problem fixed and talk to the tenant later.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, I may not have explained myself correctly. The floor that is spongy is the one in the bathroom at the edge of the bathtub. The tub doesn't leak and never has. Enough water has been on it that is starting to spread out into the hall and under the pantry. (the water damage and spongy floor that is)The only way this could have happened is for her boys to have splashed water over the side of the tub and to have stood on the bare tile without a bathrug. This is the most expensive matter as the floor will have have to be totally replaced along with the tile.
As far as the airconditioner, the front panel and filter are missing and dust and dirt are gumming up the coils.
Not to mention the torn screens on the porch, the torn shades in 2 rooms, the filthy living room rug, the broken light fixture.
Because she is paying rent does that mean she can wreck the property?



------------------
RLG

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by No1damomma:
Sorry, I may not have explained myself correctly. The floor that is spongy is the one in the bathroom at the edge of the bathtub. The tub doesn't leak and never has. Enough water has been on it that is starting to spread out into the hall and under the pantry. (the water damage and spongy floor that is)The only way this could have happened is for her boys to have splashed water over the side of the tub and to have stood on the bare tile without a bathrug. This is the most expensive matter as the floor will have have to be totally replaced along with the tile.
As far as the airconditioner, the front panel and filter are missing and dust and dirt are gumming up the coils.
Not to mention the torn screens on the porch, the torn shades in 2 rooms, the filthy living room rug, the broken light fixture.
Because she is paying rent does that mean she can wreck the property?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

She is paying rent to live in the property and has no right to damage anything or live like a slum. You need to have a serious talk with her as based on the info, she has violated the conditions of her lease. She must repair the damages she has caused. Help her out by telling her what she needs to do ie. install bathrug, no splashing boys in the tub etc. Demand that those cosmetic things be fixed wthin 30 days and that she agrees to have the place inspected by you every 30 days. If she does not agree then give her a lease termination notice. Sounds like she needs to do some serious cleaning instead of vacationing.