Landlord Question and Answer Forum

We were notified by our tenant that the toilet overflowed and they didn't notice for a few hours. We have hired a plumber for the repair and hired a water mitigation service to extract the water. The water mitigation service has pulled the wood flooring out of the master bedroom and hallway, the carpet out of a 2nd bedroom, and pieces of sheetrock in the master bedroom, and hallway. The tenant is stating they need to stay in a hotel and they want us to pay the hotel bill. Our insurance company has said that as long as the home is not uninhabitable they will not pay a hotel bill, the insurance company acknowledges it may be uncomfortable, but it is livable and therefore their choice to go to a hotel. Total repairs could take 1 1/2 - 2 weeks. Questions: (property is located in CA) 1) Whose responsibility is it to pay the hotel bill? Landlord or Tenant 2) If they got to a hotel temporarily do they stop paying rent? Thanks for your help!

If the insurance claims the house is livable then the tenants can live there and if they choose to rent out a hotel room it would be on them to do so. You can write up a notice claiming the property livable from the insurance co. and that they are responsible for any hotel expenses if they so choose that option.

Posted by Patty H, on Sunday, August 10, 2014