Renters Deny $30,000 in Damages. Who Pays?
“You can see they took the fronts off the cabinets, they broke through the countertops, they smashed dents and holes in the tile, so in doing that, literally everything has to be replaced in here,” the landlord, who wants to remain anonymous, said.
The landlord’s granite countertops in the bathroom were destroyed, and there are holes in the doors and walls of the once quaint family home. When the landlord confronted the tenants, they denied having anything to do with it.
“If I had to do it all over again, I would have done my due diligence first in regards to I would have run a background check. A lot of time, I think people don’t want to spend the money to do it, but it’s a smart thing to do so you kind of know exactly what kind of renter you’re going to get,” said the landlord.
According to Knoxville property manager Debra Davis-Johnson, that’s the first step landlords need to check off before handing over the keys.
“If you do the homework on the front end, then more than likely you won’t be taking a chance. You don’t want to take chances on who you put into your property,” Davis-Johnson said.
A local attorney said when there’s intentional damage beyond wear and tear, it becomes a crime.
“If it amounts to felony vandalism, then the law can get involved. It’s no longer just a breach of a civil contract. It’s an actual intentional act by a tenant to destroy property,” Banks & Jones attorney T. Scott Jones said.
Now, this landlord is not simply left with thousands of dollars in damages, but every day that passes with this house off the market, the landlord is losing even more money and potential tenants.
Davis-Johnson said a solid contract and frequent walk-throughs could have prevented situations like this one. It’s something the landlord regrets not doing enough.
“What I should have done, maybe every couple months, do a little walk-through, so you can kind of see what you’re getting as a renter,” said the landlord. “You know someone that’s lived in the house a little bit, are they taking care of it? Is there garbage all over the place? I didn’t allow my renters to smoke in the house, but I can clearly see they did smoke in the house, they smoked in the garage, you know there’s 100 cigarette butts sitting in the garage.”
“It’s the landlords’ preference to how often do they want to do, but anywhere from monthly or bi-monthly but it is something that you want to go inspect that home maybe once a month, once every three months,” said Davis-Johnson. “That’s one of the other key things that a landlord wants to make sure that they have a good solid contract on the front end that covers who is responsible for what.”
The landlord’s house is in the process of being rebuilt, and according to the insurance adjuster, the landlord is hit with 22 pages worth of damages. From broken appliances, to paint on the wall, that damage totals more than $30,000.
Source: local8now.com
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