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Tenant situation: cops bust down door. Who pays for damages?

N

NetWareHead

THAT guy
Got this email today from my tenant: (Names/locations removed.)
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NetWarehead:

Hope you are doing well. This past Sunday, while I was traveling in St. Louis - my 11 year-old took it upon herself to take a picture of her cutting herself and texted it to a friend. XXX (my daughter) was staying here with my x-mother-in-law for a few days while I was gone. Well XXX's friend showed the picture to her mother and she called the police. It was late at night - and both my x-mother-in-law and daughter were asleep. When the police arrived and no one came to the door - they attempted to kick open the door because they thought my daughter was in danger. Finally my x-mother-in-law came downstairs to let them in. With that being said - the door jam is cracked and the door knob is busted. The bolt lock is fine.

I realize this is not the news you were looking to hear - and I know I am fully responsible for the damage. With that being said - I can reach out to ... the superintendent here to take a look and fix it - or I can reach out to ... (property manager) to get the names of some door companies they have used in the past. Again, I know this is my responsibility but wanted to reach out to you as the owner of the unit as you may want me to take a different course of action.

On Monday, I returned to ... (town where rental is located) to address the issue with my daughter and the principal at her school. I also contacted the ... Police department to see if they are responsible for fixing the door and I was told no.

I apologize for this inconvenience but await your direction.

-----

Ok so first off I emailed my tenant back and let him know I was sorry to hear this news and hope his daughter is ok.

Second, the tenant already agreed in his initial communication to pay for this so this is almost a non-issue now. I just need to get the door and frame replaced, get it painted and get a new doorknob. Hard part over. Actually upon reflection, I'm going to call the police dept and request a copy of the police report filed so I get another version of the story.

The question here, in this unique situation, what if I did not have such a great tenant? What if I was renting to someone else and he didnt want to pay for the door.

This is such a unique situation and something I never considered I would encounter. Its not in my lease. Someone difficult could claim that he didnt call the cops or he didnt break the door etc...etc... What kind of recourse would a landlord have in this situation?
 
Depends on the situation. The LAPD has a full-time carpenter on staff for a reason. (Cops make mistakes too.)

Otherwise, you'd have to sue the tenant. Or make sure that future leases have a "you dun fucked up" clause relating to property damage over the deposit amount.

Is there such a thing as "crappy tenant insurance?" (Something like the under-insured motorist coverage I have on my car insurance?) At least then you could file with insurance, and they could sue the tenant.
 
NetWareHead said:
This is such a unique situation and something I never considered I would encounter. Its not in my lease. Someone difficult could claim that he didnt call the cops or he didnt break the door etc...etc... What kind of recourse would a landlord have in this situation?
Click to expand...

Security deposit and if that doesn't cover it small claims court.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
Depends on the situation. The LAPD has a full-time carpenter on staff for a reason. (Cops make mistakes too.)

Otherwise, you'd have to sue the tenant. Or make sure that future leases have a "you dun fucked up" clause relating to property damage over the deposit amount.

Is there such a thing as "crappy tenant insurance?" (Something like the under-insured motorist coverage I have on my car insurance?)
Click to expand...

Yes it is called renters insurance. Their insurance covers damages within the premise. Owner has dwelling insurance that insure the structure.
 
As always, it depends on your lease and town/state law, but I'm be inclined to believe in most situations the tenant would be responsible for damages to the unit, even if they weren't present, weren't caused directly by them, etc.

Good choice though getting the police report. You never know, tenants can be shady and he could have faked the story and had a raging party yadda yadda. Although, that's unlikely as he's accepting responsibility. I'd have thought otherwise though if he wasn't.

You're lucky you have such a good tenant.
 
As the owner, I would arrange for the damage to be repaired and, spread the charge to the tenant over the next 6 months depending on total cost.
 
I am surprised that no one has provided the correct answer:

George W. Bush is to blame.




(It would actually be the tenant. Have it repaired and have them pay now, pay over a number of months or take it out of their security deposit.)

MotionMan
 
Whose responsibility is it if the actions of the tenant had nothing to do with it? Mistaken identity, they went to wrong house, etc? (Assuming the police won't fix it and leaves it to landland and tenant)
 
Genx87 said:
They would be responsible for the door. Their actions lead to your door being broken.
Click to expand...

What actions?...I say the police dept....even though they would probably come up with some bullshit excuse about civic duty bollocks!...

Oh, and Id have a word with the parent who cried wolf too!
 
SolMiester said:
What actions?...I say the police dept....even though they would probably come up with some bullshit excuse about civic duty bollocks!...

Oh, and Id have a word with the parent who cried wolf too!
Click to expand...

Since the police are typically shielded from any kind of action for responding to a call. The people within the premise are responsible for costs incurred while they are tenants. Also, this girls actions is what lead to the police arriving in the first place.
 
In this case, the tenant is responsible, unless the police are. It doesn't seem that knocking the door in was a 'mistake' on their part.

As 'Dad' I would be pleased that my daughter's friend started a chain that could have saved my daughter's life.

I would be some combination of angry and concerned with/for my daughter.

And I would pay for the door.
 
Your fault for not barricading your door better and having a sign on your door telling cops that no funny business happens in this residence.
 
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