[RPPTL LandTen] Personal property liability - Residential

[Leonard Cabral]

As you would expect, tenant not responsible and unenforceable lease provision if the lease requires the tenant to waive liability of the landlord.  As far as experiences, never needed to litigate these case as they are settled.  I have had cases that go both ways.  One case the cause of a fire was faulty wiring.  The landlord’s insurance company paid for all the tenants’ personal property and expenses without question.  I think the fact that the tenant reported a bad switch which was “allegedly” repaired by maintenance personal which caused the fire pursuant to the fire marshal had a lot to do with it.  Insurance paid quickly.  I also had cases where the fire marshal found the tenant at fault (unsupervised kids playing with matches) which the insurance company did not pay and I wouldn’t take the case because the fire was the fault of the tenant.  The more difficult cases are stove fires which a demand letter usually works and if that doesn’t work the filing of a law suit leads to a quick settlement.  In my experience and opinion the insurance company will pay for personal property even if the tenant didn’t report the problem if the damages were caused by the landlord’s maintenance responsibility as the landlord is responsible for maintenance of the property.  Furthermore the landlord cannot impose liability onto the tenant anything that is the landlord’s responsibility.  I have never had to litigate these issues.  One case the tenant broke her leg when she fell through the kitchen floor (rotted wood) and the only issue was the amount of damages which I let a personal injury attorney mediate the damages issue, as they are more capable at the value of a broken leg.  I have taken parking lot liability and crime liability but those cases are very difficult but winnable.  One case grossed 250k.   As far a mold, all my mold client just want out of the lease and one letter usually gets that accomplished.  I have had the same mold problem for the same apartment complex and the same apartment come up on several occasions but my clients don’t want to litigate but I am keeping a list for future clients.
I have taken (and will continue to take) cases if the problem is related to the landlord’s responsibility and had no problem with insurance payments to date.  The amount of personal property is probably not worth the insurance company’s litigating expenses especially with “bad faith” claims lurking over them.  The other thought is that I haven’t demanded enough money and the insurance company jumps on the offer.
Leonard P. Cabral, Esq.
From: landten-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org [mailto:landten-bounces at lists.flabarrpptl.org] On Behalf Of Harry Heist
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 11:51 AM
To: 'RPPTL Landlord Tenant Committee' <landten at lists.flabarrpptl.org>
Subject: [RPPTL LandTen] Personal property liability - Residential

Most leases have a clause whereby the landlord and tenant agree that the landlord is not responsible for damage or loss to the tenant’s personal property. Often it urges or requires the tenant to get renter’s insurance.

I have never seen this really tested.

Then there is the implied warranty of habitability lurking out there.

What are your thoughts on the enforceability of the lease clause for instance in the case of a pipe break through no fault of the tenant or a mold bloom through no fault of the tenant?

Any cases? Experiences in court?

Harry

LAW OFFICES OF
HEIST, WEISSE & WOLK P.A.
PH: 1 800 253 8428
FAX: 1 800 367 9038
"Serving the Property Management Professional"
Website:  www.evict.com<http://www.evict.com/>
Email: harry at evict.com<mailto:harry at evict.com>
[cid:image001.png at 01D10DBD.09A540A0]<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Heist-Weisse-Wolk-PA/343965575625870>


Visit us on Facebook






THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE IS CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED, AND INTENDED FOR THE PERSONS NAMED ABOVE ONLY.  ALL OTHER USE, COPYING, OR DISTRIBUTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/landten/attachments/20151023/74274c73/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1153 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/landten/attachments/20151023/74274c73/image001-0001.png>