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Woke up this morning and my house was flooded

post #1 of 22
Thread Starter 
So this has been a real great day. I went to be about 5 this morning and everything was fine. At 10:45 I wake up to this gushing sound coming from my bathroom. I go in and there is water everywhere. I mean its fucking everywhere and streaming slowly out from the toilet. I turn off the water at the toilet and grab every towel in the house to start getting this shit up. Not 2 minutes later I see two of the maintenance guys in my building standing in my bedroom doorway staring at my naked ass like it was Monica Belucci. I yell at them to shut the door, throw on some shorts, and run out of my bedroom to find out what the fuck is going on. I find 6 people standing in my foyer, yelling that they've been banging on the door for 20 minutes trying to get in and that I've flooded the unit below me and the hallway in the building. They drilled my deadbolt to get in because the seem to have lost they key that I gave them when I moved in. The apartment building is structured like a hotel and I'm on the 2nd floor where I rent from a guy who lives in MN (don't know if his location would have any bearing on the law or not). The whole downstairs hallway and the unit below me got completely flooded as well. The first step, after kicking out everyone, was to call my rental insurance company and file a claim. Luckily, none of my actual property was damaged except for the depletion of my linen closet. Next, I call my landlord. Turns out the schmuck doesn't have homeowners insurance on this property since its an investment. He says to go ahead and get a plumber out and go from there. I call out the plumber and he tells me that my service line connecting from my water valve to my toilet sprung a leak and that's what caused my problem. I get a bill from him stating that and have kept the busted hose. I also have the bill from the new deadbolt that I was forced to buy. The property had out a flood cleanup company and they faxed authorization to my landlord to get my unit cleaned up. Now my place looks like a bomb went off in it and I've got 4 fans and a de-humidifier running to dry out the carpet and drywall so no mold forms. Now, the property is making up some cockamaime story about how I fell asleep with the shower running and flooded my tub. Don't ask, I have no idea where they came up with this shit. The maintenance guys never made it past my doorway before I got them to close the door and let me get dressed. Problem is, they're trying to stick it to my landlord now and I have a feeling that I'm going to get caught in the crossfire. Apparently, the condo and the unit owner downstairs are considering suing my landlord but a Florida state statute says that if it's a catastrophic defect (read: toilet supply line) each individual is only responsible for their own property i.e. the condo is responsible for the hallways, the people downstairs for their unit, etc.. So it seems that this is all going to rest on my word of a catastrophe vs. the condo boards made up story that I'm a terrorist and flood peoples apartments with overflowing bathtubs. This is a problem because they have a nasty habit of fucking renters with their big corporate dick. They even got one of the maintenence guys to work up a typed paragraph full of typos that corroborates the bullshit story. Management in the office is not being helpful and I'm a bit in the dark here. Any suggestions as to how I should proceed from here?
post #2 of 22
Wow, that sucks. Awful situation.
post #3 of 22
Thread Starter 
Thanks Yerf.
post #4 of 22
Sorry to hear this. Go get a good lawyer Monday. The cost will be worth it.
post #5 of 22
Damn man. I'm sorry that happened to you. 2 years ago my neighbors house was completely destroyed when the river behind them flooded and overtook their entire home. The water was up to the roof of their 2 story home and everything they owned was destroyed.

Shouldn't your renters insurance cover the costs to some extent? Make sure you deny the fuck out of their claims and lawyer up if you need to. Obviously, keep all the documentation the plumber gave you to support your side of the story.
post #6 of 22
Thread Starter 
Thanks guiz The flood crew just left and the drying is going better than expected. I've got 5 fans and a dehumidifier working 24/7 right now and they expect it should be done by tomorrow. Some good news at least
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Sorry to hear this. Go get a good lawyer Monday. The cost will be worth it.
I was considering it but its really the owners fight isn't it? How could they possibly come after me even if their ridiculous statement holds up somehow?
post #7 of 22
Sorry to hear this. Lawyer up.
post #8 of 22
I believe this is the responsibility of the property owner. It is true that insurance companies will not write a homeowners policy on rental property, but there is landlord insurance. Landlord insurance typically covers the structure, lost rental income, and minimal personal property (theirs, not yours). If your landlord has a mortgage and does not have this insurance he is an idiot. I am a landlord myself and if you were my tenant I would pay for the repairs, clean-up and any associated repair for the neighbors. I suggest you research tenant rights laws in your state.
post #9 of 22
Hrmmm. I imagine the landlord could still go after you for contribution, so it would be good to preserve any documentation of the sprung leak to counter the accusation that you fell asleep with the shower running. In addition to holding on to the bill and the busted hose, you might want to have the plumber write basically an affidavit (or you can type it in advance if he doesn't want to) about what he observed and him him sign it and get it notarized.

BTW, I have been the victim of water damage caused by the neighbor above me falling asleep while his kitchen sink was running (WTF?), so the building's version of events sometimes does happen.
post #10 of 22
This is a classic fucked up situation and why we have lawyers. Trust me, if the other people involved are trying to stick it to you with lies and false statements there is really no hope of a nice equitable solution between gentlemen. you NEED legal help. Now. Simply having a lawyer might save you ever having to get near a court room and will save you a huge amount of worry and strife and pay for itself a dozen times over.
post #11 of 22
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorCal View Post
This is a classic fucked up situation and why we have lawyers. Trust me, if the other people involved are trying to stick it to you with lies and false statements there is really no hope of a nice equitable solution between gentlemen. you NEED legal help. Now. Simply having a lawyer might save you ever having to get near a court room and will save you a huge amount of worry and strife and pay for itself a dozen times over.
Well, they're not trying to stick it to me, they're trying to stick it to the landlord. My worry is that he'll get screwed over and try and screw me over in retribution. If I was to lawyer up, what type would I go for? Real Estate?
post #12 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Sorry to hear this. Go get a good lawyer Monday. The cost will be worth it.

Everybody hates lawyers until shit like this happens.

Then lawyers are like the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Rambo, hope everything goes well for you. What a shitty beginning to the weekend.
post #13 of 22
The tenant generally has responsibility for the areas under their own control,
except for hazards caused by structural defects, dangers that the landlord knew
about but did not reveal when he rented the apartment, violations of the law,
and dangers caused by the landlord's negligence.


The landlord must keep your housing in conformity with all building, housing
and health codes. If no codes apply, the landlord must maintain the structural
components and plumbing in good repair. (Fla. Stat. § 83.51(1)(a),(b)).


http://www.floridapirg.org/edfund/re...ights-handbook

My opinion, based only on your posts, is that you have not had enough communication with your landlord to retain an attorney.
post #14 of 22
Damn, sorry to hear that. Hopefully everything will work out.
post #15 of 22
I've been flooded, though not with your ramifications and I wish you luck. There are lawyers who work in landlord-tenant areas who would probably be the best choice if it comes to that. ~ H
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