NSW Tenant refusing to pay rent due to leekage

The tenant themselves chose to store the furniture in the balcony. They sent their relative to stack the furniture there so I am guessing it isn't my issue. The tenant is also aware of the work being instigated as my PM has been in touch with them.

The leak was caused by the cistern overflowing but if there was a known issue it wasn't bought to my attention else I would have got it fixed.

The tenant has been paying rent. The rent gets deducted as a direct debit from the customer's Australian bank account.

 

Wow, you won't let the tenants terminate and also won't let rent abate while the place is uninhabitable?

Obviously we only have an initial outline of the situation here, but I would say you're in very dangerous territory.

Especially because as other posters have pointed out - what if you're potentially liable for the damage the water has caused?

 

the tenant is required to have contents insurance so you shouldn't have to worry about their belongings.

If the tenant covered the drain intentionally (most likely, I see it alot) then you may be able to pursue them for some sort of claim however, if insurance is covering the damage and you are only out of pocket an excess for your building contents and a few weeks rent (potentially see if your landlord insurance will cover) then i would say its a good deal. The other option is you terminate the lease as the property is uninhabitable then you will have vacancy periods and re letting fees.

 

Are they? Required by who?

 

I'm guessing it was done in (misguided) foresight. The S bend or P trap in the bathroom would likely dry out after being away for a few months, so the tenants would be welcomed to a nice sewage smell in the entire apartment upon their return.

 

Close the bathroom door. That'd keep the smell confined.

 

If you have a hermetically sealed bathroom, then sure!

 

Doesn't everyone?

 

My wife would be a lot happier with me if ours was, after I'm done with it!

 

Let me rephrase - they are not required to have contents insurance however, if they want their belongings covered by insurance they must have their own contents policy.

This is advised in any good NSW lease and is referenced in the Tenant Information Statement that is required by law to be given to a tenant before they sign a residential lease in NSW.

 

Thanks for seconding my opinion on the tenant's actions by covering up the drain hole.

 

There's a big maybe on whether that would actually constitute negligence that led to the damage though.

I certainly would not be confident on it without a lot more information.

 

I bet they would rather return to a stinky apartment which can be solved by pouring water down the drain and opening up all the windows... than coming back to a flood damaged apartment with water damaged belongings, furniture etc...

 

No one can blame the tenant for the overflowing cistern... but had the tenants not covered the drain hole then the damage would have been limited to the bathroom itself (vanity cabinets, any other fixtures including door frames, doors etc). I would argue that the tenants' negligence significantly contributed to the extent of the damage.

 

TOTALLY AGREE...!!

 

Yes of course, that's the basic argument for the landlord.

Problem is, is it unreasonable to cover up a drain hole while you're away and there's presumably no reasonable foreseeability that a cistern would catastrophically fail during that time?

That's just one problem too. There's also no information about whether the covering of the drain even materially contributed to the damage or how much difference it would have made.

There's also lots and lots of other variables too.

Its not an easy or clear cut case of negligence by any means.

 

IMO it is very unreasonable to cover up a drain hole while you're away. Covering up the drain hole defeats the purpose of why the drain hole is there in the first place - it's there just in case there is a catastrophic plumbing failure.

As for covering up the drain hole to prevent odours from affecting the apartment.. well the occupants can easily air out the apartment once they return and pour some water to fill up the drain - problem solved.

If the drain hole is covered up to prevent drain flies from escaping.. then it's a simple case of keeping water in the drain and preventing it from a build up of soot or whatever the hell you call that stuff that sticks to the side of a drain pipe.

It's pretty clear that the tenants THOUGHT they were smart by covering up the drain hole.. but in reality.. they were far from smart.

 

From personal experience in dealing with a limited amount of cases over the years.. I can safely say that these drain holes are pretty effective in reducing the amount of water that escapes a bathroom or laundry where there is a plumbing calamity and no one is at home.

 

Why do you think they put the drain there in the first place?

It's the water going stagnant over time in the drain that usually causes the bad stench, I pour Pine-o-clean down the drains to stop the smell when the homes are vacant for a long time.

 

All the tenancy flooding cases I've seen over the years were from something happening that the tenant was involved in - so while they were there obviously.

Left the bath tap on etc. One was a water cooler the tenant had that broke.

Well its not to purely deal with flooding while someone isn't there obviously. So I'm not sure how that advances any argument either way.