atomicbadgerrace
12-22-2008, 03:43 PM
I think we've exhausted the factual question asked by the OP. I'm going to close the thread. If anybody wants to open a new thread on this topic, that's fine.
Good call, and thank you for being so eloquent. I hadn't even noticed that the thread was still in GQ. Since you closed it between the time I hit "reply" and typed this, I didn't want to let it go to waste... ;-)
ETA: For anyone who is wondering which thread this is in reference to, here it is (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=498252).
Does renter's insurance cover power failure?
I have no idea. Other posters have suggested it might, but it seems that would be something one would check his/her own policy for. If it doesn't, then I'd assume I was just SOL.
See this is what I do not understand. I don't think the landlord has done anything wrong, and I don't see my request for a credit against my rent as any kind of punishment for doing anything wrong.
Because he still has to pay the mortgage on the property, whether you pay him or not. IMO, you should do everything in your power to make sure that he doesn't have to do so unless he's done something wrong. You, and the law, I have no idea, may agree. This is just my opinion.
But it is the landlord's responsibility to provide a habitable property. That is one good reason for renting instead of buying; I am willing to pay someone else good money (without building any equity) to assume that risk. If they don't want to assume that risk, they should not be in the business of renting out property. I don't see why that risk suddenly reverts to the tenant just because the habitability is compromised by natural forces. I paid him to assume that risk.
Did you? Does your rental agreement, or your state law, say that? That the landlord shall be liable for repairs due to acts of nature? My WAG (again, not a lawyer) is that it might--after a reasonable period of time. ISTM that he's had less than 24 hours (if your initial "yay power!" post was around the time the power came back) to rectify the situation. Not only that, but...
Notify the landlord in writing that the property is uninhabitable, and ask for a credit on the rent. I have not heard back on that yet.
...you're probably not the only tenant having issues right now. Even if you were, I'd consider this to still be within reasonable, as far as the time he's had since the power came back.
The landlord told me to call the furnace company (who also supplies my oil) and ask them what to do. They said the house was frozen, and I needed a plumber to thaw out the house. I called one that the landlord recommended, but he didn't have the device to thaw a house, which is apparently a jet engine from a 747 that they aim in an open door. But my understanding of plumbing and heating is rather limited, so I could be wrong.
Anyway, I called the landlord back and asked him to find a plumber and make an appointment to thaw the house. He said someone would be there tomorrow at 11:00am (but he said it was Roto-Rooter, so we"ll see how much good that does), so it's another night on my sister in laws couch. I'm dreading when the water does come back on, because there is a good chance some of the pipes are broken and further repairs will be necessary.
I think gigi's question is valid. What do you expect him to do, aside from walk on water? The furnace company has been contacted, and the landlord has made arrangements for a plumber to be there tomorrow. That sounds pretty expedient on his part.
A water pipe just now burst under the dishwasher, and the kitchen flooded, sending a torrent of water down through the floor and out through the electrical fixtures in the ceiling of the garage below. I managed to turn off the water, but when I called the landlord, he said "I don't know what to do tonight, I will see if I can find somebody".
I can only assume this will also happen when the second floor bathroom thaws out, so this place is not going to be livable for the foreseeable future. There were 300,000 people with no power, and I am sure some of them have broken pipes too. Getting a plumber to do the kind of work this place needs could be weeks before one is available.
You even admit that getting a plumber could take weeks. Again, what do you want the landlord to do to solve the problem immediately? Birth a plumber? He's right--he probably can't find someone tonight. But is it his fault that there aren't plumbers on call 24/7? No. Is it yours? No.
But these things happen. And it sucks, but Absolute is spot on, IMO. He's doing the best he can, it sounds like. You're doing the best you can. But it really sounds like you're being intentionally antagonistic. Your landlord is not God, and can't pull plumbers and electricians and such out of nowhere.
I am not paying rent until this is fixed. If that means the landlord misses his mortgage payment, it's no skin off of my nose. He should have done something to prevent the pipes from freezing while the power was out.
Do you even know that something could have been done to prevent the pipes from freezing? I don't. I have no idea about that kind of thing, and you said upthread that your knowledge of plumbing and heating is limited. But you're going to take that knowledge to throw out there that "well, he should have done something, since something can be done!"?
Honestly, I don't think you understand a good thing when you've got it. Your landlord sounds like he's been on top of things as much as he could be, and rather quick about it, too. I've known people who've waited on maintenance in units for weeks before their landlords would have a look -- probably because a lot of them can wait up until the last possible legally acceptable second before fixing a problem.
On the other hand, you're crying foul, and "it's his job to provide me with an acceptable unit" ... despite acts of God, and the ensuing clean up job. Again, I'm no lawyer, and I'm no judge, but you're not doing much on the sympathy vote, it seems.
My non-legal, not-your-lawyer advice is to accept the circumstances with which you've been presented, accept that some things come at a loss, and appreciate that you have a landlord who actually gets back to you within 24 hours.
Good call, and thank you for being so eloquent. I hadn't even noticed that the thread was still in GQ. Since you closed it between the time I hit "reply" and typed this, I didn't want to let it go to waste... ;-)
ETA: For anyone who is wondering which thread this is in reference to, here it is (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=498252).
Does renter's insurance cover power failure?
I have no idea. Other posters have suggested it might, but it seems that would be something one would check his/her own policy for. If it doesn't, then I'd assume I was just SOL.
See this is what I do not understand. I don't think the landlord has done anything wrong, and I don't see my request for a credit against my rent as any kind of punishment for doing anything wrong.
Because he still has to pay the mortgage on the property, whether you pay him or not. IMO, you should do everything in your power to make sure that he doesn't have to do so unless he's done something wrong. You, and the law, I have no idea, may agree. This is just my opinion.
But it is the landlord's responsibility to provide a habitable property. That is one good reason for renting instead of buying; I am willing to pay someone else good money (without building any equity) to assume that risk. If they don't want to assume that risk, they should not be in the business of renting out property. I don't see why that risk suddenly reverts to the tenant just because the habitability is compromised by natural forces. I paid him to assume that risk.
Did you? Does your rental agreement, or your state law, say that? That the landlord shall be liable for repairs due to acts of nature? My WAG (again, not a lawyer) is that it might--after a reasonable period of time. ISTM that he's had less than 24 hours (if your initial "yay power!" post was around the time the power came back) to rectify the situation. Not only that, but...
Notify the landlord in writing that the property is uninhabitable, and ask for a credit on the rent. I have not heard back on that yet.
...you're probably not the only tenant having issues right now. Even if you were, I'd consider this to still be within reasonable, as far as the time he's had since the power came back.
The landlord told me to call the furnace company (who also supplies my oil) and ask them what to do. They said the house was frozen, and I needed a plumber to thaw out the house. I called one that the landlord recommended, but he didn't have the device to thaw a house, which is apparently a jet engine from a 747 that they aim in an open door. But my understanding of plumbing and heating is rather limited, so I could be wrong.
Anyway, I called the landlord back and asked him to find a plumber and make an appointment to thaw the house. He said someone would be there tomorrow at 11:00am (but he said it was Roto-Rooter, so we"ll see how much good that does), so it's another night on my sister in laws couch. I'm dreading when the water does come back on, because there is a good chance some of the pipes are broken and further repairs will be necessary.
I think gigi's question is valid. What do you expect him to do, aside from walk on water? The furnace company has been contacted, and the landlord has made arrangements for a plumber to be there tomorrow. That sounds pretty expedient on his part.
A water pipe just now burst under the dishwasher, and the kitchen flooded, sending a torrent of water down through the floor and out through the electrical fixtures in the ceiling of the garage below. I managed to turn off the water, but when I called the landlord, he said "I don't know what to do tonight, I will see if I can find somebody".
I can only assume this will also happen when the second floor bathroom thaws out, so this place is not going to be livable for the foreseeable future. There were 300,000 people with no power, and I am sure some of them have broken pipes too. Getting a plumber to do the kind of work this place needs could be weeks before one is available.
You even admit that getting a plumber could take weeks. Again, what do you want the landlord to do to solve the problem immediately? Birth a plumber? He's right--he probably can't find someone tonight. But is it his fault that there aren't plumbers on call 24/7? No. Is it yours? No.
But these things happen. And it sucks, but Absolute is spot on, IMO. He's doing the best he can, it sounds like. You're doing the best you can. But it really sounds like you're being intentionally antagonistic. Your landlord is not God, and can't pull plumbers and electricians and such out of nowhere.
I am not paying rent until this is fixed. If that means the landlord misses his mortgage payment, it's no skin off of my nose. He should have done something to prevent the pipes from freezing while the power was out.
Do you even know that something could have been done to prevent the pipes from freezing? I don't. I have no idea about that kind of thing, and you said upthread that your knowledge of plumbing and heating is limited. But you're going to take that knowledge to throw out there that "well, he should have done something, since something can be done!"?
Honestly, I don't think you understand a good thing when you've got it. Your landlord sounds like he's been on top of things as much as he could be, and rather quick about it, too. I've known people who've waited on maintenance in units for weeks before their landlords would have a look -- probably because a lot of them can wait up until the last possible legally acceptable second before fixing a problem.
On the other hand, you're crying foul, and "it's his job to provide me with an acceptable unit" ... despite acts of God, and the ensuing clean up job. Again, I'm no lawyer, and I'm no judge, but you're not doing much on the sympathy vote, it seems.
My non-legal, not-your-lawyer advice is to accept the circumstances with which you've been presented, accept that some things come at a loss, and appreciate that you have a landlord who actually gets back to you within 24 hours.