Landlord responsibility?

Jul 05, 2011 11:38

So, a tenant informs their landlord they're going out of the country for two months. Rent and whatnot is arranged for the time away ( Read more... )

apartments: landlord issues

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Comments 12

martinemonster July 5 2011, 16:06:20 UTC
I've never been in this situation. It would be hard to prove that they locked their door. But my renters insurance covers burglary even if I leave windows/doors unlocked. Maybe ask her/him to check if s/he's covered?

How did the landlord know the stuff was stolen?

(I'll add this to my paranoia-list and will never let my landlord know I'll be out of town. Bastard.)

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kaylla_334 July 5 2011, 17:45:03 UTC
legally, you have to let him know if the place is gonna be empty for a prolonged time. It's an excessively high risk of damages if there's a water leak/infiltration, frozen pipes in winter, risk of fires etc...It's up to the tenant to advise the landlord if anything goes wrong.

If you're not there to do so, and then something happens, believe me you will be responsible for any and all damages to your apartment and all those affected around you

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its_ender July 5 2011, 16:08:19 UTC
Do you think it was just an assumption about the door being unlocked by the landlord if there were no signs of a forced entry? That'd be my guess.

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koolkittkat July 5 2011, 19:53:14 UTC
Second-hand account here but something along the lines of 'if you're dumb enough to leave the place unlocked while you go away for two months you deserve it'.

And well... there's a wide gap between a smashed door (obvious) and a picked lock or even one that's been easily forced open (smaller scratches that could easily be ignored as age/wear).

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its_ender July 5 2011, 20:01:20 UTC
well...no one deserves it!
hmm, that's just rude and obnoxious to say that

do thieves really pick locks? thought that only happens in the movies...
from friends, family, work...if thieves did gain entry from their locked doors, the lock or door was always broken somehow, either by a crowbar or some other tool

which was it, the obvious or the not so obvious?

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koolkittkat July 5 2011, 22:05:22 UTC
With a small ruler or similarly shaped object you can quickly pry open some locks (like on door handles, so if you only locked the handle... easy-ish access)

I've locked myself out of my own place way too many times...

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fuzzyila July 5 2011, 16:09:26 UTC
I think the landlord should have reported it to the police when he noticed the stuff was stolen. If he noticed the door was unlocked, he should have locked it back. The apartment is always under the responsibility of the landlord to take care of (not the stuff inside though).

Now that the tenant is back, they should file a police report and believe me, the police are going to ask a whole bunch of questions to that landlord!

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evil_mom July 5 2011, 17:20:15 UTC
I completely agree.

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wendykh July 5 2011, 17:31:15 UTC
I third this.
And yeah, never tell your landlord you're out of town. Even if guidelines say to, don't. Tell a trustworthy family member/friend who has your key and will go make your place look inhabited every other day or so.

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kaylla_334 July 5 2011, 17:51:03 UTC
The only thing to do is to have the police write up a report and submit it to the the insurances and cross their fingers real tight.

The régie will not do anything because a) the landlord fulfilled his obligations i.e. to give possession of the dwelling
b) the landlord is not responsible for anything from inside the dwelling that might go missing, otherwise all tenants would just have a never ending field day
c) say the story is true, (most) thieves arent stupid. They are not just gonna bring a truck up front and empty the place in the middle of the day ;) Unless it is a building with a night watchman, then the landlord has no obligations to just stand in the hallways and take not of everyone/thing that comes in/goes out.
d) at best it's nothing more than a he-said-she-said. Your friend most certainly cannot prove anything, while the landlord, if really that crooked, will have no problems coming up with witnesses that will verify that he is a good landlord and takes care of the place yadda yadda yadda.

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koolkittkat July 5 2011, 19:45:31 UTC
Yeah, well I don't honestly think the landlord stole the stuff. But it sounds like they flat out left the place unlocked. (Said something like 'if you're dumb enough to leave the place unlocked while you go away for two months you deserve it' =/ )

I know there's no responsibility for theft/etc but honestly it feels like it would have been in the landlord's own interest to turn a key. Because of the whole lack of ability on either end to prove if the dwelling was locked.

Oh well. What's done is done.
Thanks for the input.

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