Rental Issue : Burst Pipe

[deadlyapp]

Well, I know there are a number of landlords here and I'd be interested in hearing if anyone (both renters and landlords) has had a similar issue and how they've resolved it.

We had a pipe burst in our rental unit on Friday night, sometime after midnight. We noticed it around 4:00am but unfortunately the only way to shut off the leak was to turn off water to the entire complex (4 units total). Our landlord came out Saturday but told us he couldn't get a plumber out until Monday to do any work and asked us to shut off the water between 10:00PM and 6:00AM through the weekend. During the time that the water was on we had a steady leakage of water into our kitchen. Fortunately the leak wasn't massive and we were able to contain all of the water in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it looked like water was able to leech along the bottom of the wall joist into the adjoining garage and the separating interior wall.

Now, the plumber is out, he found the leak (a burst pipe in an exterior wall) and it's being repaired. The problem is that the joist is very clearly soaked through and the insulation is very wet. There's no way to tell how much additional damage has been done to other parts of the wall like the drywall, the cabinetry, etc. I haven't spoken with the landlord yet today to determine what he plans on doing, but mold growth is obviously a concern of mine. So I'm not sure yet what I should ask to be done and any recourse I may have. Nothing of ours was damaged, its just the building that is affected.

Cliffs:
Pipe blew up in rental
Water damage to wall
Concerned about mold
What do?

 

[DesiPower]

Get mold and dampness inspectors, they have special infrared cameras and shit. If dampness found threaten owner with lawsuit and get out of the lease.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Get professional bonded plumbers
Rip apart the walls
Fix leak
Replace all damp walls
File Insurance claim

This, of course, is all stuff the landlord should be doing.

Frankly, leaving the water on 16 hours a day was a dumb move. The insurance company might refuse to cover the additional damage if they think it's intentional.

It would have been cheaper for him to get four hotel rooms for three nights. Sounds like the landlord is going to have a learning experience.

 

[nageov3t]

ignorant question, but wouldn't mold take like years to develop to a point where it's causing an environmental hazard to the renters?

 

[smackababy]

This, of course, is all stuff the landlord should be doing.

Frankly, leaving the water on 16 hours a day was a dumb move. It would have been cheaper for him to get four hotel rooms for three nights.

Sounds like the landlord is going to have a learning experience.

This. The landlord is going to have to fix all of this damage now as well.

 

[DesiPower]

This, of course, is all stuff the landlord should be doing.

Frankly, leaving the water on 16 hours a day was a dumb move. The insurance company might refuse to cover the additional damage if they think it's intentional.

It would have been cheaper for him to get four hotel rooms for three nights. Sounds like the landlord is going to have a learning experience.

I just read the tldr and assumed OP was owner, apologies. A damage such as this can cost anywere between 10 to 15 thousand dollar and your insurance premium will take a hit. No wonder shitty owner tried the cheaper way out

 

[feralkid]

This, of course, is all stuff the landlord should be doing.

Frankly, leaving the water on 16 hours a day was a dumb move. The insurance company might refuse to cover the additional damage if they think it's intentional.

It would have been cheaper for him to get four hotel rooms for three nights. Sounds like the landlord is going to have a learning experience.

This.

It's hard to believe the landlord couldn't get a plumber out sooner.

Probably just didn't want to pay the weekend/emergency rate.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

ignorant question, but wouldn't mold take like years to develop to a point where it's causing an environmental hazard to the renters?

Nope. A few weeks is usually plenty if the conditions are right.

I've known a few people with skin conditions and asthma that magically disappeared when they moved: personally, I don't think there's an acceptable level of "hazard" when you're paying large sums of money for the privilege of being slowly killed by your apartment.

Then again, easy for me to say - I can afford a well maintained place with professional management.

 

[clamum]

I am dumbfounded he had yous shut off the water between 10pm and 6am (which I would think would be light use times), yet allowed it to run during the day. WAT. I'm no plumbing expert but that just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[deadlyapp]

Get mold and dampness inspectors, they have special infrared cameras and shit. If dampness found threaten owner with lawsuit and get out of the lease.

This is likely what I'll have to request if he doesn't offer it automatically. I just hate thinking that I'll probably have to pay for this out of pocket and then try to recoup the costs through small claims court. I also hate the thought that it is very likely we may have to withhold rent in order to attempt to strong arm the landlord and as soon as we do that we're likely going to forfeit our deposit and have to start finding a new place to live. It's just a pain in the ass considering we just moved in in February.

This, of course, is all stuff the landlord should be doing.

Frankly, leaving the water on 16 hours a day was a dumb move. The insurance company might refuse to cover the additional damage if they think it's intentional.

It would have been cheaper for him to get four hotel rooms for three nights. Sounds like the landlord is going to have a learning experience.

I'll be very interested to see how it is taken. I've been documenting our conversations in case it comes to this but he did state he contacted 2-3 different plumbers on Saturday morning to no avail. He never offered to put us up in a hotel and I'm not sure how many of the other tenants were really familiar with what was going on.

This.

It's hard to believe the landlord couldn't get a plumber out sooner.

Probably just didn't want to pay the weekend/emergency rate.

That's my thought too. Probably is a catch 22 from an insurance perspective since I'm sure insurance wouldn't have wanted to reimburse an emergency rate.

 

[NetWareHead]

This, of course, is all stuff the landlord should be doing.

This. Let the landlord handle it as it is his property that is damaged. If none of your items were damaged, you have nothing really to complain about (although this is the reason why I mandate my tenants get their own rental insurance. In the lease, I also absolve myself from any responsibility for damages to their personal items in a situation like this). If you as the tenant notice mold then bring it up to the landlord otherwise you have no "recourse".

 

[who?]

Soak it with Lysol spray to prevent mold.

 

[deadlyapp]

I am dumbfounded he had yous shut off the water between 10pm and 6am (which I would think would be light use times), yet allowed it to run during the day. WAT. I'm no plumbing expert but that just doesn't make sense to me.

Well that is why we would turn it off at night - nobody needs to use it. During the day (especially on the weekend) I'd expect constant use and you wouldn't be able to get away with turning off water to all the units as that is an essential utility. If it had been on a line specific to our unit we could have shut it off probably 20 hours of the day without affecting us much.

This. Let the landlord handle it as it is his property that is damaged. If none of your items were damaged, you have nothing really to complain about (although this is the reason why I mandate my tenants get their own rental insurance. In the lease, I also absolve myself from any responsibility for damages to their personal items in a situation like this). If you as the tenant notice mold then bring it up to the landlord otherwise you have no "recourse"

And I agree with you - and I have renters insurance to cover me for possible situations like this - but I'm more concerned with what happens from here. The leak is now fixed, so the landlord has two options as I see it: 1. Button the wall back up, say everything is peachy, and move on with his life or 2. Do it the "right" way which would be to ensure everything is dried completely or replaced. Neither of these options really affects the landlord other than financially, but if he opts for 1. and mold shows up in a month or so then my life will get infinitely more difficult.

 

[feralkid]

I'm sure insurance wouldn't have wanted to reimburse an emergency rate.

I think quite the contrary; The cost (even at emergency rates) would have been much lower had the problem been addressed immediately, perhaps low enough that a claim would not have been filed.

Now it's potentially a disaster.

 

[feralkid]

Soak it with Lysol spray to prevent mold.

No.

 

[NetWareHead]

This is likely what I'll have to request if he doesn't offer it automatically. I just hate thinking that I'll probably have to pay for this out of pocket and then try to recoup the costs through small claims court. I also hate the thought that it is very likely we may have to withhold rent in order to attempt to strong arm the landlord and as soon as we do that we're likely going to forfeit our deposit and have to start finding a new place to live. It's just a pain in the ass considering we just moved in in February.

And I agree with you - and I have renters insurance to cover me for possible situations like this - but I'm more concerned with what happens from here. The leak is now fixed, so the landlord has two options as I see it: 1. Button the wall back up, say everything is peachy, and move on with his life or 2. Do it the "right" way which would be to ensure everything is dried completely or replaced. Neither of these options really affects the landlord other than financially, but if he opts for 1. and mold shows up in a month or so then my life will get infinitely more difficult.

You have to let the landlord step in and do his job. All of this is what-ifs at this point considering the leak happened this weekend and I'm assuming repairs have not yet begun.

IMO, you really dont have a right to ask the landlord for a mold inspection on the basis of a leak ocurring unless you have clear evidence that mold is there. If all of the wet insulation & drywall etc... is removed and replaced, mold will not grow. You are certainly free to get a mold inspection on your own dollar but the witholding rent idea to pay for it is ridiculous and I would begin eviction proceedings.

 

[deadlyapp]

This. Let the landlord handle it as it is his property that is damaged. If none of your items were damaged, you have nothing really to complain about (although this is the reason why I mandate my tenants get their own rental insurance. In the lease, I also absolve myself from any responsibility for damages to their personal items in a situation like this). If you as the tenant notice mold then bring it up to the landlord otherwise you have no "recourse".

You have to let the landlord step in and do his job. All of this is what-ifs at this point considering the leak happened this weekend and I'm assuming repairs have not yet begun.

IMO, you really dont have a right to ask the landlord for a mold inspection on the basis of a leak ocurring unless you have clear evidence that mold is there. If all of the wet insulation & drywall etc... is removed and replaced, mold will not grow. You are certainly free to get a mold inspection on your own dollar but the witholding rent idea to pay for it is ridiculous and I would begin eviction proceedings.

That's why I state I don't want to do that as I know we would be evicted based on that. As you state, if all the work is done as you say, I'd have no concerns about it.

Either way, the lease agreement gives him 30 days to repair the issue before we can terminate the lease or he can terminate the lease due to damage at will. If he decides the repairs are going to be more significant than simply replacing the pipe, then he is supposed to adjust the rent to account for the whole unit not being completely habitable (but he gets to choose what amount to reduce the rent).

There's not really anything to do at this point other than sit on our hands and see what happens.

 

[Jimzz]

This.

It's hard to believe the landlord couldn't get a plumber out sooner.

Probably just didn't want to pay the weekend/emergency rate.

Double this.


I have 2 houses and do my own plumbing and can say weekend/emergency rate is much cheaper than the extra damage he has done. Unless it was already a shitty place then keep on cooking your meth and enjoy the mold and potential structural issues.

 

[edro]

This is what insurance is for.
They would need to open the walls to evaporate all the water out.
Not a huge deal really.
There are plenty of companies that specialize in this and insurance should pay for it all.

 

[deadlyapp]

Double this.


I have 2 houses and do my own plumbing and can say weekend/emergency rate is much cheaper than the extra damage he has done. Unless it was already a shitty place then keep on cooking your meth and enjoy the mold and potential structural issues.

Wish I cooked meth the extra income would be handy. It's actually a pretty nice place about a half mile from the beach in Redondo Beach, CA. Housing market here is nuts.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Wow that's a crappy situation. If that was my building I'd be out there that same day to fix it myself.

 

[deadlyapp]

Update for anyone interested. Looks like an iron pipe burst, remnants of the original plumbing in the apartment (Thinking mid 60's construction) that wasn't replaced when they redid all the plumbing with copper a few years ago. Found it very interesting that it wasn't a fitting and that the pipe actually developed a pinhole leak. Had to strip off the stucco from the outside of the apartment to replace the pipe. Plumber said he dried off the area where the leak was, but you can't dry off wood that fast and I'm sure that the backside of the wallboard is trashed and all the molding is soaked through. They already have re-stucco'ed over the area so there's going to be no real way to get any air circulation back there to dry. The landlord did drop off a couple of giant carpet blowers though to dry out inside the kitchen.

Guess we'll see in a month or so if mold starts developing on the wall or anywhere else. Something tells me we're going to start keeping our eyes open for something new.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Mold growth. 40+ year old complex? Ya, there is mold and it has nothing to do with the leak.

And guess what. The new water won't add much mold. All you can do is surface dry the wood and cover it while damp. Over time, the air pocket will regulate to match the air around the walls.

Are you one of those freaks that washes their hands i nthe bathroom and holds a piece of paper while opening the bathroom door?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I can't believe this has not inspired a "Rectal Issue: Burst Pipe" parody thread. My entire belief system has been shattered.

 

[balloonshark]

I worked in a place where the ceiling occasionally leaked in a place or two. I fimly believed there was mold in the overhead duct work. During the time I worked there I kept a constant sinus infection. I wasn't the only one who stayed sick. After I quit the problem went away.

If you start to smell mold or mildew or start having health problems then it's time to take action for your own sake.