Landlord wasted water, charges tenants

[indiana1616]

I am a tenant in southern California. Our sprinkler system had a broken valve that needed to be replaced- the problem was that the sprinklers would turn on but wouldn't turn off.

All of us that live in the house left for a weekend trip on the same day that the landlord told us that a handyman came out and fixed the sprinklers. We never saw or spoke to the handyman. We had left the spinklers "off" before we left since we knew that they didn't turn off on their own.

In the process of replacing this valve, the handyman the landlord sent didn't fix the problem and then left the house with the sprinklers on. The sprinklers remained on 24/7 for the next five days; none of us in the house at the time knew the sprinklers were on since we all took a house trip to a nearby city. However, upon our return we noticed the sprinklers were on and quickly figured out they had been on for the past few days.

The water bill from this is about an additional ~$100, which the landlord is trying to charge us, the tenants, for. We don't feel that this is right. We left the sprinklers "off" before leaving on our trip since we knew the system was broken. The handyman the landlord hired failed to fix the problem, and then it was the handyman's error which caused the sprinklers to run 24/7 for five days.

What should I do in this situation?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Since you were not home at the time, how do you know they were left on?

Have you discussed this extra $100 matter with the landlord?

Gail

 

[FarmerJ]

If it was me, Id send the LL a written on real paper letter , keep a copy for my record stapled to my certificate of mailing / confirmed mail delivery from sending a copy to the LL and in that letter I would tell the LL that I had gone out of town and leaving the sprinkler system was shut off since it was malfunctioning and your maintenance guy who was supposed to fix it failed to make sure it either worked properly or didn't come back to check on it SO I don't feel inclined to pay for your maintenance guys error and Id bet a judge would agree with me too! Id send it one of those methods I listed to make sure I had a record of the letter and let the LL respond.

 

[STEPHAN]

Is this a regular water meter, the same water you use in the house?