Tenant loss of use of apartment - mold

[dfluet]

Basic situation as follows:
Tenant was in shower and noticed loose grout.
Wiggled grout and a piece fell out.
Pressed on the tile and it fell out as well, not sure how hard they had to work at it since I was not there
Bottom line - tenant has asthma and was nervous about the mold so out of the apartment for 5 days, two more days until shower grout was dry, sealed and useable.

Tenant had not yet bought insurance (I know I should have insisted they get it before they moved in but time was tight) They will get it now.

My insurance will not pay anyhting as it does not cover mold.

Do I owe them the 5 days rent back? Legally speaking...morally speakin?

All information and comments appreciated.

 

[realfortin]

QUOTE (dfluet @ Jun 25 2008, 09:40 PM) Basic situation as follows:
Tenant was in shower and noticed loose grout.
Wiggled grout and a piece fell out.
Pressed on the tile and it fell out as well, not sure how hard they had to work at it since I was not there
Bottom line - tenant has asthma and was nervous about the mold so out of the apartment for 5 days, two more days until shower grout was dry, sealed and useable.

Tenant had not yet bought insurance (I know I should have insisted they get it before they moved in but time was tight) They will get it now.

My insurance will not pay anyhting as it does not cover mold.

Do I owe them the 5 days rent back? Legally speaking...morally speakin?

All information and comments appreciated.

If the tenant is a good tenant, pays their rent and everything on time, I would say give back the rent without them even asking. It builds a good tenant-landlord relationship. It may get you good referals, mostly of other good tenants.

Try to cheap out and all of a sudden you are just another landlord bad guy in their eyes. what is the cost of 5 days? 1/6 th of a month`s rent. I`d do it for sure.

 

[invst4profit]

Need more details.
Did tenant discuss the situation with you prior to moving out?
Was there a mold issue or just a loose tile?
Has the tenant asked for compensation?

At this point I would decide if I am dealing with some kind of a nut job (future problems) or someone that overreacts to situations.
On the surface it seems odd that a tenant would move out over a lose tile unless there is info you are leaving out.
Personally if not agreed to in advance I would not offer to pay him and if no mold found definatly not pay.

 

[dfluet]

QUOTE (invst4profit @ Jun 26 2008, 07:06 AM) Need more details.
Did tenant discuss the situation with you prior to moving out?
Was there a mold issue or just a loose tile?
Has the tenant asked for compensation?

At this point I would decide if I am dealing with some kind of a nut job (future problems) or someone that overreacts to situations.
On the surface it seems odd that a tenant would move out over a lose tile unless there is info you are leaving out.
Personally if not agreed to in advance I would not offer to pay him and if no mold found definatly not pay.


There definitely was mold behind the tiles. The one that fell out was just the tip of the iceberg. We had to tear the whole thing out and replace the drywall then retile. They tenant is a bit high strung, but so far pays the rent on time and no real issues....he is just a bit high maintenance. They are paying a decent rent though - 1400 / month for a renovated main floor two bedroom condo in NE Edmonton.
They did say they wanted to be out for a few days because of possible health issues. The tenent and his girlfriend are both asthmatic, she quite seriously, and I did not want to take any health chances with them.
Bottom line is I guess I will refund them the 5 days rent and make sure I check any future purchases very carefully for shower issues.

 

[invst4profit]

Sounds fair under the circumstances.
Sounds like these tenants may be a ongoing problem if high maintenance. They can be very time consuming.