water leak in my rental

[kiki]

Hello all,
I read the blog frequently and rarely post but i have a questions for anyone with some experience on this.

I am waiting for the right house/price to come. I currently rent an apartment in a owned condo area (not a multi-unit rental property). We rent throught a property management company.

Last week, we saw water on the second bathroom foor. Thought it was coming from toilet. Called the property management, they change a gasket of the toilet but the next day the carpet on the bedroom next to the bathroom ws also wet. We called the repair guy he had to drill holes in the walls (bathroom, closet, linen closet to try to find out where the leak was coming.

The next day we found out the next door neighbor had a pipe that broke and her apartment was flooded and we were getting the overfload. Even though she shut down the water source, the second bathroom and main room also got very wet.

The propety management said we had to move out until they fix the place. We have rental insurance, which will be paying for hotel, meals, damage shoes and furniture and moving our stuff to storage while they repair.

Here is my question/concern:
1. Repair: because the walls got so wet they have to replace/repair some walls. Tey have found asbestos so they have to take the asbestos before they can repair the walls and redo the bathroom. we did not want our furniture in the same room while they are removing the asbestos, so we move everything to an storage.

I know they are fixing this, but the neigbor does not have insurance and i am not sure who she will use to repair her wall/pipe broken. If my apartment had asbestos, likely hers too. How do we know if she is properly taking it out? As i renter, can i demand to ask her, if she is properly removing the asbestos?

Also, how do i know asbestos have not leaked when they were drilling the walls to try to find the source of the water leak?

i know most building in California have asbestos so likeliness to find one without wil be hard, but would you return to this property? or recomend moving out? The rent is reasonable and location is great.

2. Payment. Obviously we wll not pay for the rent for the days we are not living there, but we want the owner to pay for all utilities, including cable that we will not be able to use as we are not living there. They say they will only pay the excess of the regular rate for the usage of electrical machines that will consume electricity. This does not sound good.

Anybody had any similar experience that could advise on what thing i shoud be concern/looking for/ask, etc?

Thank you
RB Renter

[abell]

In Time Warner Cable’s FAQ online they have:
Question:
Does Time Warner Cable have seasonal/vacation hold?
Answer:
Yes, in some locations. Please contact us to see if your area qualifies.
Maybe your cable company has the same.

Regarding other utilities, I guess it depends how long all these repairs will take. It sounds like major damage, so if you are going to be gone for more than a week or so, you could probably make the case that you wouldn’t be using your normal amount of electricity and they should be covering more. The other utilities (water and phone) shouldn’t be used much without you there.

I don’t know anything about asbestos, so I’ll others respond to that aspect. You might want to ask the HOA if there is anything they can do to make sure things are done properly.

[abell]

In Time Warner Cable’s FAQ online they have:
Question:
Does Time Warner Cable have seasonal/vacation hold?
Answer:
Yes, in some locations. Please contact us to see if your area qualifies.
Maybe your cable company has the same.

Regarding other utilities, I guess it depends how long all these repairs will take. It sounds like major damage, so if you are going to be gone for more than a week or so, you could probably make the case that you wouldn’t be using your normal amount of electricity and they should be covering more. The other utilities (water and phone) shouldn’t be used much without you there.

I don’t know anything about asbestos, so I’ll others respond to that aspect. You might want to ask the HOA if there is anything they can do to make sure things are done properly.

[abell]

In Time Warner Cable’s FAQ online they have:
Question:
Does Time Warner Cable have seasonal/vacation hold?
Answer:
Yes, in some locations. Please contact us to see if your area qualifies.
Maybe your cable company has the same.

Regarding other utilities, I guess it depends how long all these repairs will take. It sounds like major damage, so if you are going to be gone for more than a week or so, you could probably make the case that you wouldn’t be using your normal amount of electricity and they should be covering more. The other utilities (water and phone) shouldn’t be used much without you there.

I don’t know anything about asbestos, so I’ll others respond to that aspect. You might want to ask the HOA if there is anything they can do to make sure things are done properly.

[abell]

In Time Warner Cable’s FAQ online they have:
Question:
Does Time Warner Cable have seasonal/vacation hold?
Answer:
Yes, in some locations. Please contact us to see if your area qualifies.
Maybe your cable company has the same.

Regarding other utilities, I guess it depends how long all these repairs will take. It sounds like major damage, so if you are going to be gone for more than a week or so, you could probably make the case that you wouldn’t be using your normal amount of electricity and they should be covering more. The other utilities (water and phone) shouldn’t be used much without you there.

I don’t know anything about asbestos, so I’ll others respond to that aspect. You might want to ask the HOA if there is anything they can do to make sure things are done properly.

[abell]

In Time Warner Cable’s FAQ online they have:
Question:
Does Time Warner Cable have seasonal/vacation hold?
Answer:
Yes, in some locations. Please contact us to see if your area qualifies.
Maybe your cable company has the same.

Regarding other utilities, I guess it depends how long all these repairs will take. It sounds like major damage, so if you are going to be gone for more than a week or so, you could probably make the case that you wouldn’t be using your normal amount of electricity and they should be covering more. The other utilities (water and phone) shouldn’t be used much without you there.

I don’t know anything about asbestos, so I’ll others respond to that aspect. You might want to ask the HOA if there is anything they can do to make sure things are done properly.

[EconProf]

We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.

[EconProf]

We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.

[EconProf]

We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.

[EconProf]

We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.

[EconProf]

We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=EconProf]We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.[/quote]

And cigarettes kill less than a third of long term smokers.
At least your Ayn Rand level of credibility stays consistent.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=EconProf]We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.[/quote]

And cigarettes kill less than a third of long term smokers.
At least your Ayn Rand level of credibility stays consistent.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=EconProf]We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.[/quote]

And cigarettes kill less than a third of long term smokers.
At least your Ayn Rand level of credibility stays consistent.

[urbanrealtor]

[quote=EconProf]We are all unduly afraid of asbestos due to a cabal of trial lawyers, abatement contractors, junk science, and bureaucrats. Real danger comes only from prolonged exposure to high concentrations of airborne asbestoes, such as that suffered decades later by shipyard workers in WW II.
Still, if they discovered it, current rules call for us to be overly safe–damn the cost–and contain it.
As to your higher utility costs when they use power tools to do the repairs, you are really talking about pennies here. Worry more about who is going to pay, and how your life and possessions will be disrupted during the work.[/quote]

And cigarettes kill less than a third of long term smokers.
At least your Ayn Rand level of credibility stays consistent.

[Author]

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