Fire

[STEPHAN]

What is the name of your state? Florida

Rental house caught fire. Luckily neighbors saw it and called 911. No structural damage, just some electrical, drywall, complete garage renovation etc. My insurance estimates damage with 35K.

The fire was caused by some batteries the tenant was charging the garage. Nobody was home.

I am not familiar with this. Would you approach tenant to reimburse me for the deductible? There is nothing in the lease.

 

[FarmerJ]

Did you require this tenant to carry renters insurance ?

 

[STEPHAN]

Did you require this tenant to carry renters insurance ?

No.

 

[quincy]

What did the fire inspector's report say was the reason for the batteries starting a fire?

 

[STEPHAN]

What did the fire inspector's report say was the reason for the batteries starting a fire?

Nothing. Only that the fire started there. And tenant admitted that he started charging them just before he left the house.

 

[justalayman]

Tenant is liable if they were negligent. If they weren’t negligent, it’s your cost to repair it.

You will need to figure out, if you can, what actually started the fire. That may help point you to anybody that might be liable.

 

[quincy]

Nothing. Only that the fire started there. And tenant admitted that he started charging them just before he left the house.

What kind of batteries were being charged - and for how long did the tenant leave them charging?

I am wondering if the fire might have resulted from faulty batteries rather than a faulty tenant.

 

[LdiJ]

What kind of batteries were being charged - and for how long did the tenant leave them charging?

I am wondering if the fire might have resulted from faulty batteries rather than a faulty tenant.

Its far more likely to be faulty batteries or something to do with the electrical system.

 

[STEPHAN]

The electrical system was inspected and did not start the fire. It had no GFI on that outlet, but it was up to code when it was built.

The fire came from the batteries and I can only assume that one of them (it was four) overheated.

I can not prove the tenant did anything wrong.

 

[TigerD]

Fire isn't reasonable wear and tear. Bill them. Let the tenant prove they aren't responsible.

TD

 

[adjusterjack]

Good luck getting money out of a tenant. You might want to just keep quiet about it and take it out of his deposit when he moves. Just sayin'.

 

[quincy]

The electrical system was inspected and did not start the fire. It had no GFI on that outlet, but it was up to code when it was built.

The fire came from the batteries and I can only assume that one of them (it was four) overheated.

I can not prove the tenant did anything wrong.

I would check to see if the batteries are under recall for overheating.

I think it will be difficult to collect from the tenant unless the batteries warn of a fire risk if the batteries are overcharged.

 

[justalayman]

What kind of batteries and what kind of charger? If an improper or defective charger is used, it could overheat some types of batteries.



And to those suggesting taking it out of the tenants deposut

I don’t know where any of you live but if you know folks that charge a $35,000 deposit for a rental house, well, let’s say we don’t live in the same class of neighborhood.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

I believe what the OP wants to consider is taking the insurance deductible out of the security deposit; perhaps a ?$1000 deductible?

Gail

 

[justalayman]

The electrical system was inspected and did not start the fire. It had no GFI on that outlet, but it was up to code when it was built.

The fire came from the batteries and I can only assume that one of them (it was four) overheated.

I can not prove the tenant did anything wrong.

A gfci is not intended to prevent anything of the sort of what happened. It is intended to prevent shocks. The ocpd (overcurrent protective device or more commonly known as a breaker or fuse) is what mighht have been beneficial here. If there was an overload on the circuit and the ocpd did not “trip”, it could cause a fire. That type of fire would have been in the wall though. Did the fire start in the walls or where the batteries or battery charger was located?