Rental place flooded by accident; who should pay?

What is the name of your state? California

I rented a small studio for my parents who where visiting.

One day the owner had to shut down the water to fix an emergency problem in another studio. He tried to notify my parents but they were out at the time.

My mother got back to the studio, tried to take a shower, and she forgot to turn off the water (she was confused because there was no water at all), and she also forgot to close the shower door. Then she left the studio for the day.

Few hours later the owner put the water back and the water started to come out from the small bathroom flooded the studio for an hour or so.

It damaged the hardwood floor and went through the floor and damaged the ceiling and walls in the garage underneath.

My parent's insurance refuse to pay for the damages because they think the owner is responsible; the owner already kept the $750 deposit and wants me to pay another $4,000 to fix all the damages. Meantime my parents left the place.

Since I signed the rental agreement, and on paper I'm liable for all damages in the studio; but my parents were living inside. Who is responsible? Who should pay for all the repairs?

Thanks,
-Chris

ctesti said:

\Who is responsible?

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Based on your story, your mom.

Who should pay for all the repairs?

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Well, let's see. (A) your mom; (B) you, since you're on the contract; (C) me, just 'cause I'm a hell of a nice guy.

You pick.

Under California law, the landlord has responsibility for normal repairs and upkeep and to give appropriate notice when working on the property, if he was not able to notify them because they were out, he should have left written notice that the water would be turned off. Also if the water was off and she tried to use the shower, the person working on the plumming anywhere in the building would have known that someone was trying to use the water and could have then notified them, then when the water was turned on again, they would have also known that the water was open somewhere in the building, so the landlord missed several opportunities to notify your parents and or to fix the problem. So since they were out and he didn't make sure they knew, the landlord is at fault, if the water was working properly and you mother left the water running that would be different. HIs insurance should cover it and you should be entitled to your entire deposit. You may have to go to small claims court.

rmet4nzkx said:

Under California law, the landlord has responsibility for normal repairs and upkeep and to give appropriate notice when working on the property, if he was not able to notify them because they were out, he should have left written notice that the water would be turned off. Also if the water was off and she tried to use the shower, the person working on the plumming anywhere in the building would have known that someone was trying to use the water and could have then notified them, then when the water was turned on again, they would have also known that the water was open somewhere in the building, so the landlord missed several opportunities to notify your parents and or to fix the problem. So since they were out and he didn't make sure they knew, the landlord is at fault, if the water was working properly and you mother left the water running that would be different. HIs insurance should cover it and you should be entitled to your entire deposit. You may have to go to small claims court.

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Uh-uh, nope, nosiree. Mom left a faucet open, after determining that it didn't work when it she tried it. But for her actions, the flood would not have occurred. Moreover, her failure to turn the faucet back off was not reasonable under the circumstances. The landlord is not responsible for double checking to make sure idiot tenants do not flood their apartments.

One does wonder though, why turning a faucet on flooded anything. Didn't the damn thing have a drain?

You Are Guilty said:

Uh-uh, nope, nosiree. Mom left a faucet open, after determining that it didn't work when it she tried it. But for her actions, the flood would not have occurred. Moreover, her failure to turn the faucet back off was not reasonable under the circumstances. The landlord is not responsible for double checking to make sure idiot tenants do not flood their apartments.

One does wonder though, why turning a faucet on flooded anything. Didn't the damn thing have a drain?

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Nope the landlord is responsible because they turned the water off without notifying the tenant, nor taking any other opportunity to fix the problem. That is why their insurance wouldn't cover it, it would have if it was their fault. Believe it or not, when the water is turned off it is possible to not know which direction to turn the handle to turn it off. As you wondered, why did it flood even with the shower on if there was a drain? Perhaps, fixing the other plumming problem backed up the drain? I had that happen once, they worked on the neighbor's and my basement flodded.

You Are Guilty said:

The landlord is not responsible for double checking to make sure idiot tenants do not flood their apartments.

One does wonder though, why turning a faucet on flooded anything. Didn't the damn thing have a drain?

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Well it's a bit more complicated than that.

1) My mom is living in a foreign country where faucets are designed in a different way (simpler): turn counter clockwise=open, turn clockwise=close
For this faucet you had to push it all the way down to close it; she never used such faucet before.

2) To make it more interesting the hot water was running for a while, probably because the water heater was full when they cut the water. So it took a couple of minutes for the water to stop running completly.

3) Once the water was turned back on, the shower head sprayed the water in all the bathroom; it's a studio and the shower was very very tiny. With the shower door open some of the water went on the floor, enough to buckle the hardfloor in the main room and go through the floor in the garage underneath.

My Mom's insurance replied to the landlord that he should have posted a notice on their door and that she was not liable; and now the landlord is after me because I signed the rental agreement.

Go to California Codes and look under this section, CIVIL CODE SECTION 1940-1954.1 it shows that the landlord must give written notice, and other tenant rights.