Forced to seek alternative accommodation due to water outage

[steve_w]

What is your State? CA

Hi, our apartment complex recently experienced a water outage due to a burst pipe that lasted several hours into the following day. As I had no means to use either the bathroom/toilet or shower in my apartment, this left me with no option but to seek alternative accommodation at a nearby hotel. Do I have any rights/remedies as a tenant to seek reimbursement from the landlord for the overnight hotel bill on the grounds that my apartment was uninhabitable (lack of running water)? Note that I don't have renter's insurance. Thanks

 

[adjusterjack]

Do I have any rights/remedies as a tenant to seek reimbursement from the landlord for the overnight hotel bill on the grounds that my apartment was uninhabitable (lack of running water)?

No. Not the LL's fault. Things happen. If it had been your own home you would have spent the same amount of time without water, maybe even longer.

Note that I don't have renter's insurance.

Now you know why you should have it.

 

[Zigner]

OP - perhaps your renter's insurance will have a provision for this - take a look.

 

[not2cleverRed]

What is your State? CA

Hi, our apartment complex recently experienced a water outage due to a burst pipe that lasted several hours into the following day. As I had no means to use either the bathroom/toilet or shower in my apartment, this left me with no option but to seek alternative accommodation at a nearby hotel. Do I have any rights/remedies as a tenant to seek reimbursement from the landlord for the overnight hotel bill on the grounds that my apartment was uninhabitable (lack of running water)? Note that I don't have renter's insurance. Thanks

Don't be so melodramatic.

You could have bought a few gallons of bottled water and stayed in your home.

The only way you would have any reasonable expectation of a remedy from landlord would be if the burst pipe were in the complex proper, i.e. in a pipe owned and maintained by the complex, and even then, that would be not much - maybe some water, and certainly not a hotel stay, This wasn't even 24 hours!

If the broken pipe was not on the complex's property, it is definitely not the landlord's responsibility.

And you not having renter's insurance is on you and no one else - you are not owed extra from the landlord because you chose not to get renter's insurance.

OP - perhaps your renter's insurance will have a provision for this - take a look.

You're being ironic, right?

 

[Zigner]

You're being ironic, right?

I missed the OP's statement about not having renter's insurance...but, shhh, don't tell anyone

 

[not2cleverRed]

I missed the OP's statement about not having renter's insurance...but, shhh, don't tell anyone

We all need coffee today...

 

[Just Blue]

This is why px hx is so interesting. OP should have taken the advice offered to him in 08.

https://forum.freeadvice.com/threads/is-renters-insurance-enforceable.445538/

 

[Zigner]

He sure should have. Everybody hates to pay for insurance, until they need it.

 

[Just Blue]

He sure should have. Everybody hates to pay for insurance, until they need it.

Renter insurance is fairly inexpensive.

 

[FarmerJ]

notr2 save me a cup for my wake coffee before going to work tonight, Steve while you can still get them in hardware stores I suggest you get a garden watering can and keep it on hand , not only are they great to spin the shower head off and use when you have to add water to radiator BUT with the shower head end on it becomes a emergency shower for when the water goes off again and a pair of 4 gallon size jugs kept in a closet empty so you can take them somewhere and fill them if the water goes off again . AS to your not staying there and renting a room at a local inn, your free to ask the LL but on a serious note If it was me as your LL I would have only considered a reimbursement of some kind if the water had been off more than one day BUT your LL had it repaired fairly quick. So feel free to ask , just don't be surprised if the LL says no , that renting a room for the night was your choice.

 

[Just Blue]

notr2 save me a cup for my wake coffee before going to work tonight, Steve while you can still get them in hardware stores I suggest you get a garden watering can and keep it on hand , not only are they great to spin the shower head off and use when you have to add water to radiator BUT with the shower head end on it becomes a emergency shower for when the water goes off again and a pair of 4 gallon size jugs kept in a closet empty so you can take them somewhere and fill them if the water goes off again . AS to your not staying there and renting a room at a local inn, your free to ask the LL but on a serious note If it was me as your LL I would have only considered a reimbursement of some kind if the water had been off more than one day BUT your LL had it repaired fairly quick. So feel free to ask , just don't be surprised if the LL says no , that renting a room for the night was your choice.

I agree with what you posted...but the pipe was a city pipe, not a LL property pipe. IMO LL shouldn't have to compensate for a problem that was out of his control.

 

[Zigner]

I agree with what you posted...but the pipe was a city pipe, not a LL property pipe. IMO LL shouldn't have to compensate for a problem that was out of his control.

I don't believe that we were ever told whose pipe it was that burst...I could be wrong...

 

[Just Blue]

I don't believe that we were ever told whose pipe it was that burst...I could be wrong...

You're right! I hope my vision issues are no-sleep/not enough coffee related and not some delusional issue...'cause that would really suck.