Well, the Houston freeze has dealt me an issue. Any advice or how to handle this is appreciated.

Facts: Tenant is out of town. I went in to the house yesterday, ran faucets, flushed toilets, and all appeared OK. I noticed the heater was not on and that the inside temperature was 45 degrees. This morning I get a call from the neighbor saying that water is running down the driveway, so I thought the sprinkler blow-out preventer had burst. Upon opening the front door, I noticed that water was throughout the entire first floor. I immediately shut-off the water.

Yes, the laminate floors that I personally installed last spring/summer (6-8 months ago) are literally floating on about 1" of water. Insurance has been called. My real estate agent has been called. I've tried to call the tenant, but had to send an email instead. My next call is to a real estate attorney (recommendations?).

Recommendations for water removal in west Houston? Other tips/advice appreciated!

Pics to come!

where was the water coming from?

The best I can tell the water was coming from the main in-line to the house, from the laundry room area. I do not believe it was flowing down from the attic (2-story home), but I'm not 100% sure.

Edit: I went in, shut-off the main line, went to the curb to verify that the red dial was not spinning, then locked and left. I will head back tomorrow to do more investigation. I need to reach my tenant!!!

Living Room:


Dining Room (the reflection is water):


Master Bedroom:


Hall and 2nd Downstairs Bedroom:


Kitchen:

You need to call ServPro ASAP! Like right now.

Insurance will pay for it.

Seriously. Get them in there today and let them do their thing.

The laminate floor is gone. Reconcile yourself to that right now. They will rip up the wet flooring and rip out wet sheetrock but it has to be done. Your tenant's stuff is the least of your concerns. They should be covered if they have renter's insurance.

But really, you've got to get the moisture out of there. Today!

I appreciate the advice.

Question - What do I (legally) do with the tenant's furniture and possessions? Move it to storage?

And, yep, I know the laminates are gone...is what it is.

Honestly, I'm not sure about "legally" what you should do with their stuff. You're probably not obligated to do anything with it. That's what renter's insurance is for. If you want to be nice, and I probably would, you could move things to dry areas. ServPro is going to push stuff around and move what they have to move to rip up the wet flooring.

It has to be done.

Did they leave the heat off entirely? Or just leave it set really low? I'm assuming they're out of town?

Yes, they're out of the country. His phone goes straight to voicemail "This user has not set up the voicemail box. Good bye." Hoping he's checking his email...and not on a flight back to Texas!

Yes, heater was 100% turned off. Temp was 45 degrees inside the house.

is there a garage that things can be put in?

and does that come back on the tenant for leaving the heat off in January? (causing the burst pipe) That just seems irresponsible, especially if going out of the country.

Yes, the garage is an option. He has a vehicle in there, but the other 1/2 is available and may work.

As for the 2nd comment, I'd prefer to not post anything on the public forum regarding liability. At least until I've chatted with a real estate attorney.

JaneDoe02 said:

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You need to call ServPro ASAP! Like right now.

Insurance will pay for it.

Seriously. Get them in there today and let them do their thing.

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Good advice, but insurance will pay for it "if" he has coverage for water damage, and after he has met his deductible.

My last lease agreement required heat to be on 50 or higher if leaving town in winter for precisely this reason.

Mitigation and remediation is most important for you right now. Make sure air blowers and dehumidifier are going and moisture readings are being done. Likely will need to remove baseboards, trim, water damaged drywall and insulation in wall cavities. Possibly cabinets and anything in contact with floor/water is damaged and will need to be replaced. Good estimator on your side is a must as adjuster doesn't work for you. Tenant not really a priority right now.

I'm sorry to hear about this. All I can say is stay on top of your insurance. Once an adjuster is assigned to you, check in with them every day if you want anything to happen in a timely manner. My field adjuster came to my property in early September after Harvey, I still don't have a copy of his report.

JSKolache said:

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My last lease agreement required heat to be on 50 or higher if leaving town in winter for precisely this reason.

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Our lease agreement says heat must be on 60 at a minimum.

Also if our tenants are gone, I go over and open the undersink cabinets in both kitchen and bath.

/edit to say that the weather may have been really warm when they left town and neither AC/heat was turned on. Did you try to contact them in advance of the cold weather to verify they had on the heat?

dubi said:

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JSKolache said:

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My last lease agreement required heat to be on 50 or higher if leaving town in winter for precisely this reason.

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Our lease agreement says heat must be on 60 at a minimum.

Also if our tenants are gone, I go over and open the undersink cabinets in both kitchen and bath.

/edit to say that the weather may have been really warm when they left town and neither AC/heat was turned on. Did you try to contact them in advance of the cold weather to verify they had on the heat?

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Even if it was really warm when they left, they are out of the country in mid-January. This was a very real possibility due to the time of year. At least in my opinion. This was a preventable situation and the tenant should have foreseen this as being a possibility when leaving a house unattended with the heat off in the middle of winter.

I think it will come down to what it says in the lease. I would have at least contacted them once I saw the forecast and asked if the heat was on.

I will not be updating further until I speak to an attorney. Recommendations on an attorney? Do not say Patel, he's not returning my calls or email.

Aggiemike96 said:

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Facts: Tenant is out of town. I went in to the house yesterday, ran faucets, flushed toilets, and all appeared OK. I noticed the heater was not on and that the inside temperature was 45 degrees.

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Any reason you didn't turn on the heat?

+1

I'd think that admitting to going over and making other material changes to help keep items from freezing while leaving the heat off would mitigate or eliminate any potential negligence of the tenant especially given he admits that he knew the condition of the heat and failed to remedy the potential issue until the pipe burst.

bco2003 said:

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Aggiemike96 said:

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Facts: Tenant is out of town. I went in to the house yesterday, ran faucets, flushed toilets, and all appeared OK. I noticed the heater was not on and that the inside temperature was 45 degrees.

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Any reason you didn't turn on the heat?

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I didn't say I did not turn the heat on. I said, when I arrived for the first time AFTER the cold night "the heater was not on".

Jimbo Fisherman said:

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+1

I'd think that admitting to going over and making other material changes to help keep items from freezing while leaving the heat off would mitigate or eliminate any potential negligence of the tenant especially given he admits that he knew the condition of the heat and failed to remedy the potential issue until the pipe burst.

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Where did I say I did not turn on the heat?

If you turned on the heat, I doubt you have any recourse. In that case it sounds like you are looking for someone to pay your deductible.

Jimbo Fisherman said:

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MIf you turned on the heat, I doubt you have any recourse. In that case it sounds like you are looking for someone to pay your deductible.

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So you either left the heat off and the next day the pipe burst. Or you turned the heat on and the next day the pipe still burst. I think either way it will be tough to make a case for negligence on the renter.


Just get the house taken care of before mold sets in.

It's the thaw that kills you. Good chance the pipe was already frozen and busted when he visited, but the fact it was frozen keeps it plugged temporarily (or at least plugged enough to not noticeably flood). But then turning on the heat helps accelerate the thaw, while leaving the water on fuels the fire - unsupervised.

Jimbo Fisherman said:

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If you turned on the heat, I doubt you have any recourse. In that case it sounds like you are looking for someone to pay your deductible.

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I rent my house to a tenant with the following phrase in the signed lease document:

"Property Maintenance; Tenant's General Responsibilities: Tenant, at Tenant's expense, must take all necessary precautions to prevent broken water pipes due to freezing or other causes."

And, so tenant tries to save a buck and turns heater off in January and leaves town. Pipe freezes and bursts. And, I'm out my deductible? Makes no sense to me. I'm not a lawyer. It's a good thing I contacted one on Friday so I'd understand my rights.

DannyDuberstein said:

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It's the thaw that kills you. Good chance the pipe was already frozen and busted when he visited, but the fact it was frozen keeps it plugged temporarily (or at least plugged enough to not noticeably flood). But then turning on the heat helps accelerate the thaw, while leaving the water on fuels the fire - unsupervised.

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Water was not left on unsupervised. I ran the faucets for about 15 seconds each and flushed the toilets. Before I locked and left, I verified that all faucets were off and that all toilets filled and shut off.

Unfortunately, the line that burst had nothing to do with the faucets or toilets. I think I was diligent about inspecting the property during the time a possible leak might be evident. It's the tenant's responsibility, per the lease I quoted above, to take precautions to prevent broken pipes, not mine. Yes, I have to deal with the headache. A tenant has a right to privacy and to not be hounded by a landlord.

By on, I meant from the main.

Ahhh. Thanks for clarifying.

Didn't mean for my post to come across as unsympathetic. Definite crap sandwich. And it sounds like the steps you took would have helped identify an issue in many cases.

I talked to my neighbor (he's on the board), and he was not aware of any burst pipes in the neighborhood. And, no one on the Facebook page had said anything, so I figured the house was in the clear. I did some quick checks and nothing indicated a problem. It's unfortunate that I missed it. Yet, the true cause of a the pipe freezing and bursting was beyond my control and was the duty of the tenant.

This is a mess for sure, and it's going south with the tenant. He's quoting Texas Property Code to me in emails, so guess I know what I have to do on Monday.

You aren't winning.

By accessing the property and making material changes to the heat and the water, you superceded the tenant negligence.

If you'd left the heat off or not flushed the water, you can't say the pipe would have busted. However, by inducting water into the line, making water move through the line, and turning in the heat that likely resulted in thawing the pipe as disclosed above, I would be counter suing you for all damages to any personal property affected by your accessing the unit and making material and now adverse changes that resulted in the pipe busting.

You were better off not accessing the unit vs. going in and trying to avert a free. The pipes did not break until you accessed the unit and made changes. The temporality and MAC's are not in your favor.

Also, as written, the tenant has no responsibility to remedy damages or to repair the pipe.

This is very poorly worded:

"Property Maintenance; Tenant's General Responsibilities: Tenant, at Tenant's expense, must take all necessary precautions to prevent broken water pipes due to freezing or other causes."

Nothing specifically notes tenants responsibility to remedy damages. It only itemizes their responsibility to take precautionary measures. It doesn't notate what those measures needed to be for the tenant. Thus it's likely not enforable as it's completely objective as to what's expected of the tenant.

Accessing the unit and making Mac changes would also eschew any damages incurred after you decided to take precautionary measures.

If the pipe had burst and then you raised the heat, you may be able to make a claim against the tenant, but as written and as occurred, you likely have little recourse, and I would be counter suing for damages incurred because you accessed the unit, moved water across the unit, and then the pipe burst.

I would tread lightly, take this as a learning experience to update your rental contract to specifically note tenants responsibility and all damages if not specifically performed, pay the deductible, and move on.

we had a blown water line in our home. Hot water line finally corroded through at sink, while tenants were away over summer.
Insurance didn't cover.... ugh