My landlord is asking me to pay for repairs that were necessary due to the following. She claims it is tenant caused but there would have been little to NO damage had the landlord, her partner, or myself known where the shut off valve was. Can anyone tell me if I have a chance at staving off her attempts to get me to pay for the repairs?
Sequence of events July 20th - Baltimore, Maryland:
-5:15pm the lid fell off of my toilet while I tried to adjust it to see what was causing it to run. The lid fell behind the toilet and onto the water pipe that feed the toilet. The pipe severed in half and proceeded to flood the bathroom.
-I searched the bathroom for an emergency shut of valve for about a minutes. When I could not find it I ran 2 doors down to my landlords residence. The landlord was not home but her partner was. (Water running for approximately 2 minutes at this point)
-The partner came to the house and searched for the shut off valve but did not know where it was located.
-The partner then went back to her house to contact a plumber (water had been flooding the house for approximately 10 minutes at this point).
-The partner remained in her house for approximately another 15 minutes while my roommate and I tried to get help from our parents. After 15 mins the partner returned to the premises with a hose. (water had been running approx 25 minutes at this point)
-For 10 mins we tried to use the hose to redirect water outside of the house with little success.
-At this point my roommate's father reached the premises. He used tools he had brought with him to open the water meter man hole out front and shut off the main water line. At this point the flooding stopped. (Water flooded the house for approx 35-40 minutes total). Eventually he (roommate's father) locates the shutoff valve in the house.
-Plumber arrived 20 minutes after water is shutoff. He says that the pump in the toilet was set 2 inches too high which caused the toilet to run.
-The landlord arrives on the premises later that night. She asks us to show us where we found the shutoff valve (she had no knowledge of its location prior).
Damages sustained:
1. Complete inundation of the basement (used as living space by roommate). Carpet soaked, large portion of dry wall soaked causing paint to peel off. All of roommates belongings soaked.
2. Complete inundation of kitchen. Ceiling leaking water, parts of drywall falling off of ceiling, water leaking from light fixtures, cabinets warped, water running down the walls, through cabinets, and into drawers. Electrical not working in kitchen.
3. Partial inundation of carpet in 1 of upstairs bedrooms.
Result:
The landlord has almost completed repairs. No repairs were started until July 24th. She still has not contacted homeowners insurance but said she is going to file a claim this week. All repairs are being conducted by contractors she has worked with before. She has stated that she considers the damages tenant caused and expects the tenants to "collectively help pay for the repairs" to the home. She has quoted the rapirs at $2,500-$3,000 and says she expects me to pay for anything that is not covered by Homeowners insurance. She has also stated that she will not relieve us of any rent payment (the basement has been uninhabitable for a week, no running water in most of the house, kitchen ceiling has been of questionable sturdiness).
I am not convinced the repairs she made are good enough. I believe there are sections of drywall that were soaked and were not replaced. She is not replacing the basement carpet. She simply treated it and dried it (it sat completely inundated in a humid, un-airconditioned basement for 4 days).
Sequence of events July 20th - Baltimore, Maryland:
-5:15pm the lid fell off of my toilet while I tried to adjust it to see what was causing it to run. The lid fell behind the toilet and onto the water pipe that feed the toilet. The pipe severed in half and proceeded to flood the bathroom.
-I searched the bathroom for an emergency shut of valve for about a minutes. When I could not find it I ran 2 doors down to my landlords residence. The landlord was not home but her partner was. (Water running for approximately 2 minutes at this point)
-The partner came to the house and searched for the shut off valve but did not know where it was located.
-The partner then went back to her house to contact a plumber (water had been flooding the house for approximately 10 minutes at this point).
-The partner remained in her house for approximately another 15 minutes while my roommate and I tried to get help from our parents. After 15 mins the partner returned to the premises with a hose. (water had been running approx 25 minutes at this point)
-For 10 mins we tried to use the hose to redirect water outside of the house with little success.
-At this point my roommate's father reached the premises. He used tools he had brought with him to open the water meter man hole out front and shut off the main water line. At this point the flooding stopped. (Water flooded the house for approx 35-40 minutes total). Eventually he (roommate's father) locates the shutoff valve in the house.
-Plumber arrived 20 minutes after water is shutoff. He says that the pump in the toilet was set 2 inches too high which caused the toilet to run.
-The landlord arrives on the premises later that night. She asks us to show us where we found the shutoff valve (she had no knowledge of its location prior).
Damages sustained:
1. Complete inundation of the basement (used as living space by roommate). Carpet soaked, large portion of dry wall soaked causing paint to peel off. All of roommates belongings soaked.
2. Complete inundation of kitchen. Ceiling leaking water, parts of drywall falling off of ceiling, water leaking from light fixtures, cabinets warped, water running down the walls, through cabinets, and into drawers. Electrical not working in kitchen.
3. Partial inundation of carpet in 1 of upstairs bedrooms.
Result:
The landlord has almost completed repairs. No repairs were started until July 24th. She still has not contacted homeowners insurance but said she is going to file a claim this week. All repairs are being conducted by contractors she has worked with before. She has stated that she considers the damages tenant caused and expects the tenants to "collectively help pay for the repairs" to the home. She has quoted the rapirs at $2,500-$3,000 and says she expects me to pay for anything that is not covered by Homeowners insurance. She has also stated that she will not relieve us of any rent payment (the basement has been uninhabitable for a week, no running water in most of the house, kitchen ceiling has been of questionable sturdiness).
I am not convinced the repairs she made are good enough. I believe there are sections of drywall that were soaked and were not replaced. She is not replacing the basement carpet. She simply treated it and dried it (it sat completely inundated in a humid, un-airconditioned basement for 4 days).
