Roof leak in apartment, landlord won’t fix. Can I be held liable?

By Mark Francis

Hey all,

I’ve been rening an apartment from a corporate property management company for about a year and a half outside of Denver, CO.  About 2 months ago, my local city did a inspection of our apartment.  They cited 3 things that were out of city code.  Those violations were;
-Toilet inoperable (Handle broken)
-Sink leaking
-Water damage
It didn’t specify where the water damage was on the cities form.  We later figured out the water damage was in a LOCKED water closet that contains our water heater.  We do not have access to this closet, only the property management company.
About a month ago they came to fix everything.  They fixed the toilet and sink.  When the guy opened up the water closet to check out the water damage he said, ‘We will probably have a contractor come out and fix this..’  Hour later he is back with a bucket of puddy and some bleach and said something to the effect of ‘I figured out a way to fix it on my own’
Well, he may have bleached the mold and puddied over it – but I just walked by this locked closet today and I hear a ‘drip drip’.  There is a leak in the roof, that is causing the water damage.
I know this complex has a bad reputation for charging excessivly for apartment damanges upon leaving.  I want to make sure that I don’t get stuck with any crazy bills for damage caused by they’re roof.  Mold is also a concern, but I figure the city would condem the place if it was black mold.  Maybe not.
Advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Edited on: Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 4:12 pm

One Response to “Roof leak in apartment, landlord won’t fix. Can I be held liable?”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Janet

January 29th, 2013 10:02 pm

It looks like the water damage has been documented, although it may not have been clearly pointed out in the form. I don’t know about you, but how can you possibly damage a roof? I mean damaging the carpets, some holes in the wall, and some broken windows would have been acceptable but it’s not like you went up the ladder just to damage the roof. There is no reason for your landlord to hold you responsible for that. What I would do in that situation is that I would document it and send it to my landlord. Some landlords would require you to submit a repair request so I’d suggest you do that and make sure that the landlord received it. You can send it in the mail and keep the receipt as proof. You cannot be charged for the roof damage; it’s the landlord’s responsibility. If they charge you, file a complaint. Good luck!


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