Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hi, we had a tenant move in and she didn't like the gas range. She asked if she could buy her own stove and when she moved out she would take it and reinstall our gas range. She did not reinstall it when she left, and we then discovered the range has been destroyed by rats. Since it was stored in the basement of the rental unit, and we did not know about the rats, is the tenant liable for the range replacement, or do we eat the cost since the rats were in the unit?

Was this a verbal or written agreement about the range?

Posted by Bob R, CA on Sunday, May 12, 2013

verbal... Although reading the fine print on the lease agreement it says there must be a written agreement, we did verbally say it was OK to use her own stove if she reinstalled the existing one when she moved out.

Posted by Cindy V, WA on Sunday, May 12, 2013

You just learned a valuable lesson. Verbal’s never work in the rental business. The bottom line here is that if this was taken to court, it becomes a “he said-she said” and more than likely you would lose since Judges tend to give the tenant the benefit of doubt especially since there is nothing in writing…… Having said that, let’s look at what could happen if the matter was never discussed. You check the unit and found it in the condition you described above. You took lots of pictures. You deducted/requested the cost of replacing the stove (prorated) plus the cost of replacing it back to when tenant received the unit. Tenant refuses to pay or demands their sec.dpst in full. The matter went to court. You pointed out to the court that the contract required a written agreement by the parties and that no such agreement was made. Your chances of winning are better……. As always, winning doesn’t mean you will collect the judgement. That’s another issue. The lesson here is never, never, never do verbal’s. Any change to the contract must be in detailed writing and signed by all parties. -----Disclaimer: Since I’ve been answering a lot of questions, I thought I would make the following statement. I’m not affiliated with EZlandlord Forms. I’m just here (not sure how long) to help those that have questions. Having 40+ yrs with Rental Property and done well, it’s my way of “Pay it Forward (check out the movie).” However, it is up to you to become familiar with Fed/State/Local and Tax Laws. I always like to know if the suggestions I offer are helpful. Feel free to comment anytime. Thanks in Advance. BTW...check out the Rental Property Organizer at Simp-List.com. Free Trial Download. A great program at a great price!

Posted by Bob R, CA on Sunday, May 12, 2013