tenant claims rain flooded home, clearly lying

Sorry for another tenant thread, but this is getting quite serious, and I am on my phone right now, I will edit once I am home this afternoon

Tenant calls me yesterday morning and says here bedroom flooded due to rain, go to property her entire bedroom is wet and some of the kitchen, I met a water/mold clean up crew there and we walk around back and see a large circle where an above ground pool used to be and happened to be crumpled up and thrown in the corner of the back yard. It becomes quite obvious that their above ground pool gave way, you could actually see where the water flowed and behind where the pool was, was completely dry and so were the areas where the water did not flow. The manager of the clean up crew was the first to point this out and it was pretty clear what had happened.

Besides lying that the rain did it, the tenant was very cooperative yesterday. This morning she called and said she does not want to stay there while they are cleaning up the water, and had somewhat of an attitude.

I called my insurance and the adjuster is going out to check it out, I hope to god they cover it, I also told the adjuster what the tenant is saying and what happened he was very understanding but it still concerns me.

The clean up crew is taking pictures of everything, so it is documented

Some of my questions-

is there any thing else I need to do with/for the insruance, this is my first time filing a claim for anything

Do I have to get the tenant a hotel? I was going to sugest staying with a friend, I am just hoping she is not sue happy.

I would suggest to ant land lords putting something about no above ground pools in your leases from now, who would of thought.

unless you have flood insurance, NEVER mention the word "flood" or "flooded". The pool may have leaked, broken, burst etc. All good words to use. But not flooded.

I know that pipe bursts, or water heater bursts, which cause water damage are covered. Ive never heard of an exterior pool causing interior water damage. Im afraid they might try to claim the flow of surface water from outside into the home is a flood.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: unless you have flood insurance, NEVER mention the word "flood" or "flooded". The pool may have leaked, broken, burst etc. All good words to use. But not flooded.

I know that pipe bursts, or water heater bursts, which cause water damage are covered. Ive never heard of an exterior pool causing interior water damage. Im afraid they might try to claim the flow of surface water from outside into the home is a flood.

I don't have flood insurance, my insurance agent is a close friend he told me the same thing. I explained to the adjuster as best I could without making it sound like it was rain or something else, he was very understanding and said he would try his best to get my claim approved, whether that holds any water(HA) we will see. Thanks for the reply sis I know its 7am where your at.

germanpope said: why isn't she getting the clean-up bill?

I suspect she'll get a nice letter from the insurance company.

blok said: ...2. They don't pay a dime in rent, the government does, and its way above market rent...

lindylady said: Wait. She is section 8 yet ownes an above ground pool? Is teh above ground pool yours and part of the rental or did they put an unapproved above ground pool on your property? Is teh house insured for an above ground pool?Unattached / portable devices such as an above ground pool are rarely mentioned in formal agreements.

You might have issues with insurance if the pool was uninsured

Xnarg said: lindylady said: You might have issues with insurance if the pool was uninsuredAre above ground pools typically insured? I don't think so.
My impression is that they must be insured and that there must be a fence around the property for them to be legal. This impression comes from when I was looking at houses one of the houses had an above ground pool and my insurance agent told me it woudl be much more expensive to insure the house with the pool due to liability of someone hurting themselves on teh property or due to water excaping and causing damage

Regardless of whether she pays for the damage or not, I'd still laugh in her face and ask her who she thinks she's fooling.

I think the tenant should file a complaint with the Health Dept.

just spoke to the tenant, she says she doesnt have anywhere else to stay, anyone know if i am required to get her a hotel or somewhere to stay?

blok said: just spoke to the tenant, she says she doesnt have anywhere else to stay, anyone know if i am required to get her a hotel or somewhere to stay?Wouldn't that depend on the laws in your area?

I would make sure it was clear from the beginning that it appears that this was self-induced. If she thinks she is going to get away with this by blaming "the rain," then she's more likely to ask for things. If it is clear that it is obvious that she did this herself, then she may be less likely to ask for compensation for lodging and other damages.

INAL-Since she caused the damage she is legally liable in every state I have lived in for her own housing. If the damage is so severe that it is deemed inhabitable (which would be very very severe water damage to the point where parts of building colapsing) then if she had not been responsible and you had more then a few rentals you would be liable with only a few rentals and her causing the damage and likely not officially uninhabitable then she is on her own.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: I think the tenant should file a complaint with the Health Dept.

I LOLed. It's true, how can OP expect this poor woman to live in conditions like he described! Slumlord.

No, you don't have to pay the hotel bill. You are not negligent. You are getting it fixed as soon as possible. You have to pay hotel bill only if you are ignore cleaning it up and they go to court.

blok said: germanpope said: why isn't she getting the clean-up bill?

This is a section 8 tenant so

1. they don't have any money

2. They don't pay a dime in rent, the government does, and its way above market rent so I want to keep that gravey train going

Boy, the fact that people who mooch off the government get significantly nicer houses than the one I live in sure makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

ppatin said: blok said: germanpope said: why isn't she getting the clean-up bill?

This is a section 8 tenant so

1. they don't have any money

2. They don't pay a dime in rent, the government does, and its way above market rent so I want to keep that gravey train going


Boy, the fact that people who mooch off the government get significantly nicer houses than the one I live in sure makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And Section 8 generally will raise the average rents in the area should make you feel even more fuzzy - as you work your tail off so they can live nicer than you, on your dime. AWWWWWWWWW feel the love and the "spreading around of wealth"

curvesahead said: ppatin said: blok said: germanpope said: why isn't she getting the clean-up bill?

This is a section 8 tenant so

1. they don't have any money

2. They don't pay a dime in rent, the government does, and its way above market rent so I want to keep that gravey train going


Boy, the fact that people who mooch off the government get significantly nicer houses than the one I live in sure makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

And the fact that Section 8 generally will raise the average rents in the area should make you feel even more fuzzy - as you work your tail off so they can liver nicer than you, on your dime. AWWWWWWWWW feel the love and the "spreading around of wealth"

Blah, stop reminding me. What makes me the angriest about section 8 is that there's no time limit on how long someone can receive benefits. I'm fine with temporary government assistance to families who fall on hard times, but programs like section 8 should be there to keep them off the street while they get back on their feet. Also, if the government is providing your housing then the accommodations should be pretty spartan. If you can afford a pool then you can afford to pay your own way.

A DP3 is what is referred to as an "open peril" or "all risk" policy. The loss is presumed to be covered unless a specifically excluded peril is the proximate cause. I do not have the form in front of me (been a few years), but the exclusion is roughly "flood, surface water,water that backs up through sewers and drains,...". GENERALLY speaking "flood" and "surface water" is intended to exclude weather related flooding, not really water coming from a man-made source such as a waterbed, aquarium, and a swimming pool. This can be a bit of a gray area, but again the intent of the exclusion is not directed at your situation.

If the tenant is found to be "negligent", not a given in this situation, and the company ultimately covers the loss, they generally have a right to go after her to recover what they pay out PLUS your deductible. In reality, a tenant with few assets may never pay a dime back.

SUCKISSTAPLES said: Did we ever get pics of the tenants?

For sure they be skank!!