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Pipe burst in my apartment causing minor flooding -- who is at fault?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by s land balla, Feb 7, 2009.

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  1. s land balla

    s land balla Member

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    So I got back to my apartment in Chicago last night after being away for three weeks for work. The temperature outside rose above freezing yesterday for the first time in weeks, and one of my pipes burst.

    The maintenance guy at my apartment said the damage to the wall/flooring would be about $3,000 -- he also said he could tell this pipe had burst before at least 3 times in past and whoever welded it last time didn't do a very good job.

    The only damage to my personal belongings were all the wiring behind my TV got soaked (it was all unplugged at the time) -- it's probably ruined, but I figured I'd wait a few days before plugging anything back in.

    The thing is, I had my thermostat set to 50 degrees while I was away so that nothing like this would happen, so none of this should be my fault (I don't have renter's/flood insurance). When I came back to the apartment last night, the temperature in the unit was still at 50 degrees, so it's not like the heater stopped working either.

    Thoughts?
     
    #1 s land balla, Feb 7, 2009
  2. fmullegun

    fmullegun Contributing Member

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    anything that you own in the apartment is your responsibility.

    It is their responsibility to fix the apartment.

    Are they asking you to pay the 3K?
     
    #2 fmullegun, Feb 7, 2009
  3. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    The Apartment complex is responsible for upkeep and maintenence.

    DD
     
    #3 DaDakota, Feb 7, 2009
  4. s land balla

    s land balla Member

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    I haven't spoken to my landlord yet. He lives in Florida and hasn't returned my calls. We usually correspond through e-mail, so I'll e-mail him sometime today. There's no way I'm paying the $3,000 and I doubt he'll ask me to.

    Is there a legal temperature a tenant must keep their unit at to keep pipes from freezing? I checked the lease and tried searching online, but haven't found a number. 50 degrees seems more than sufficient to me. For the month of January, I was in my apartment for a total of 4 days, the rest of the time while I was away, the thermostat was set to 50 degrees, and my heating bill was STILL $140.

    As for my personal belongings, I know they are my responsibility, but technically, they wouldn't have been ruined in the first place if the pipes (which are the landlord's responsibility) didn't burst.
     
    #4 s land balla, Feb 7, 2009
  5. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

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    Im not sure WHY you're worried, even if you didn't have it on 50. Pipes don't bust as 32 ... it takes much more than that. My buddys apartment flooded because of his washing machine ... he had to move and his neighbor downstairs had to move, but they didn't hold him responsible.
     
    #5 Space Ghost, Feb 7, 2009
  6. s land balla

    s land balla Member

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    I'm not really worried about the $3000..they won't ask me for that..my question is do I have a shot at getting reimbursed by the landlord for damage to my personal property?
     
    #6 s land balla, Feb 7, 2009
  7. fmullegun

    fmullegun Contributing Member

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    not legally. he has no responsibility for your stuff.
     
    #7 fmullegun, Feb 7, 2009
  8. across110thstreet

    across110thstreet Member

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    you can't make him pay for your stuff and he can't make you pay for the damages..

    the question is, he's in FL:eek:rida, do you plan on getting your flooded moldy aprtment cleaned and fixed soon?

    if he is tripping over the cost, it might be time to just move out...
     
    #8 across110thstreet, Feb 7, 2009
  9. ElPigto

    ElPigto Member
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    You should be able to look over your contract. I'm pretty sure though that he probably has no responsibility over your things which is why landlords usually try to encourage you (or at least let you know) to buy insurance.
     
    #9 ElPigto, Feb 7, 2009
  10. Classic

    Classic Member

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    renter's insurance...it's like $18 bucks a month

    You're right, you're responsible for your possessions. The landlord is responsible for everything else.
     
    #10 Classic, Feb 7, 2009
  11. s land balla

    s land balla Member

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    The maintenance guy is over fixing it all up right now..luckily the burst just happened yesterday..hours (or maybe even minutes) before I returned after being away for a month (what are the odds?)...so I pretty much saved the landlord a ***** ton of money by catching this mess early.
     
    #11 s land balla, Feb 7, 2009
  12. arkoe

    arkoe (ง'̀-'́)ง

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    If only the wiring got wet, your electronics should be fine.
     
    #12 arkoe, Feb 7, 2009
  13. Samar

    Samar Member

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    So do the electronics work? Wiring shouldn't go bad if you leave it in water, even for a few hours.
     
    #13 Samar, Feb 7, 2009
  14. leroy

    leroy Member
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    Always get renter's insurance. It costs next to nothing and protects you from crap like this.
     
    #14 leroy, Feb 8, 2009
  15. s land balla

    s land balla Member

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    Haven't plugged anything back in yet. I'm on my way back to Toronto right now...I'll give it some time to dry and plug it all back in when I get back next week.

    Oh, and my BBC version of The Office DVD's got soaked (as did Arrested Development, season 1-3).
     
    #15 s land balla, Feb 8, 2009
  16. arkoe

    arkoe (ง'̀-'́)ง

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    Wipe the dvd's down and, other than the packaging, they should be fine.
     
    #16 arkoe, Feb 8, 2009
  17. CrazyDave

    CrazyDave Member

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    Who is at fault?

    No one. Stuff happens. Unless there was negligence of some sort or an insurance policy in place on your end, I doubt anyone is paying for anyone else's stuff.The fact that it had been repaired poorly before might be an out, but it will cost you more than what your stuff is worth to get it sorted out and get any of your stuff paid for by someone else..

    Unless they're asking you to pay for the damages to the apartment, I'd chalk it up to learning experience and move on.
     
    #17 CrazyDave, Feb 9, 2009
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