Apartment Flood

Kim J

New Member
Jurisdiction
Texas
My daughter's college apartment flooded during a Texas Freeze. The apartment complex says it was her hot water heater that burst. Her apartment complex is now trying to make her pay for the damages to 5 apartments totaling $5,800 because of the flood. She followed the guidelines of running the heat and running the taps. I do not believe she should be held accountable when she was not negligent. Any advice or help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.
 
My daughter's college apartment flooded during a Texas Freeze. The apartment complex says it was her hot water heater that burst. Her apartment complex is now trying to make her pay for the damages to 5 apartments totaling $5,800 because of the flood. She followed the guidelines of running the heat and running the taps. I do not believe she should be held accountable when she was not negligent. Any advice or help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

In legal reality, what you believe is irrelevant. This is your daughters issue and she should be the one handling it...that is part of being a grown up.

Please have your daughter join to post under her own username and we will be glad to offer guidance to her.
 
I do not believe she should be held accountable when she was not negligent. Any advice or help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

I suggest you obtain a copy of her lease.

Once you have obtained a copy of the lease she signed, read it.

As you read, make notes regarding any provisions relevant to the flooding problem.

The answers you seek, especially any confusion concerning her specific liability MIGHT be revealed by reading her lease.

Does she have a renter's insurance policy?

If not, now wouldn't be an inappropriate time to consider obtaining renter's insurance.

Does your daughter live alone in the apartment, or does she have roommates?

If she has roomies, are they all signatories to the lease?
 
hot water heater

I've often wondered why one needs a hot water heater. Hot water is already hot.

I do not believe she should be held accountable when she was not negligent. Any advice or help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

That's easy. She can tell the apartment management to pound sand. Extreme weather conditions cause damage regardless of precautions.
 
In legal reality, what you believe is irrelevant. This is your daughters issue and she should be the one handling it...that is part of being a grown up.

Please have your daughter join to post under her own username and we will be glad to offer guidance to her.
Hello, she is a college student and my name is actually on the lease.
 
Additional information: My name is on the lease since she is a college student. She has a roommate and I've reviewed the lease and don't see anything that states she's responsible in case of a flood. We do have renters insurance and the apartment complex has filed a claim for $6,000 even though they are telling me the total is $5,600 and that we are responsible for half of that. I've asked for pictures and the report the apartment manager made when the incident happened.
 
My daughter's college apartment flooded during a Texas Freeze.

I ask this as someone who has lived his whole life in a place where, expect for a couple isolated spikes, the temperature doesn't drop below 40F: what exactly does this mean?

Her apartment complex is now trying to make her pay for the damages to 5 apartments totaling $5,800 because of the flood.

Exactly what is the landlord doing to "try" to make her pay? Also, since your daughter has a roommate, the landlord is seeking payment from both of them, not just your daughter, right?

She followed the guidelines of running the heat and running the taps. I do not believe she should be held accountable when she was not negligent. Any advice or help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

There's not a heck of a lot anyone here can tell you without knowing exactly what's happening. I assume your daughter can't pay anything, so maybe her landlord will sue her in small claims court. If that happens, she can appear and defend herself, and the court will decide whether or not she was negligent. The renter's insurance carrier needs to be put on notice (if that hasn't already happened), and it wouldn't be a bad thing (if applicable) for you to put your homeowner's insurance carrier on notice. I don't know if your HO insurance would provide coverage, but there's no harm in putting the carrier on notice.

I've reviewed the lease and don't see anything that states she's responsible in case of a flood.

But it probably says that she's responsible for returning the premises in the same condition as when she moved in (subject to ordinary wear and tear). Also, if she is negligent and her negligence results in damage to the landlord's (or anyone else's) property, then she can be held liable, regardless of whether the lease says so.
 
I've often wondered why one needs a hot water heater. Hot water is already hot.

The English language is fun isn't it? :D Full of inconsistencies, redundancies and other problems. It's no wonder I hear people who are not native speakers say that English is among the hardest languages to really master.
 
The English language is fun isn't it? :D Full of inconsistencies, redundancies and other problems. It's no wonder I hear people who are not native speakers say that English is among the hardest languages to really master.

At least we only have one word for "the."
 
I've often wondered why one needs a hot water heater. Hot water is already hot.
For the same reason we have VIN numbers. Americans love redundancy!

For the record, when I look on the Home Depot or Lowe's web sites, they don't sell "hot water heaters" - they only sell "water heaters"
 
Back
Top