House Broken into, should tenant pay damages?

[csaarloos]

In december i moved into a small back house in ventura, ca. It was in a semi sketchy neighborhood, but it had a brand new house in the front and seemed secure. Upon moving in, i notified the property managers that i wanted a security door on the back, since there was one on the front door and the back door had a glass window that wouldn't lock. All they did was jimmy-rig the window to lock. Two months later someone breaks the back window, and in comes three guys (one with a shotgun). They come in and yelled to get down and proceeded to ransack my house. In the process, they hit me in the head and face multiple times with the butt of the gun and they fired off two rounds; one in the wall and one in the ceiling. The following morning I called the managers and someone was sent out to take pictures of the damage. The next day i moved out of the house (which was feb. 13)and was completely vacated by the 17th. I told the property manager i would clean the blood from the walls and patch the holes, but he said don't worry about it, just take care of myself. Well three weeks later, i get $300 back from my $1,550 sec deposit. they charged me every nickel and dime to fix the door and window and rent for march 1-12. That house was no longer safe to live in, so i don't feel i should be responsible for the lost rent. The house easily could have been repaired by the first of the month to be rented, and even now at the end of march it is still vacant and for rent. Do i have a foot to stand on if i try and recover the rest of my deposit? any help is greatly appreciated.

[csaarloos]

and on top of them taking my security deposit, now i have $12,000 in hospital bills as a result of the incident. everything could have been prevented if they would have put a security door on the back door.

Was this an acquaintance that did this? Did you know the people? Did you file a police report of the home invasion? If you did, send a copy of it to the LL. You are not responsible for damages from the home invasion. You are responsible for any monetary damages from breaking any lease you had. You did not give the LL a chance to remedy any problems after the incident. Or, if you were a month to month tenant, you gave the LL no written 30 day notice of your intent to vacate. The LL was entitled to that at least, so you owe rent for the period of Feb, 13th to March 12th. Having crime in the unit is not a reason to fail to notify the lL as required by state law. (Please post your state as some states have shorter notification times.)

If you knew the people or failed to file a police report, you can be held responsible for the damages since you did nothing to report it.

The LL fixed the window so it would lock as you said. Someone could break in through any window or door in the place. The fact that they picked that particular window may just be location (you said it was at the back of ther house and another house was in front of yours - hence, a secluded area to break in). They could just have easily kicked in the front door or any other window in the place. The fact that you feel unsafe has nothing to do with the safety of the house. The fact that they had to BREAK IN, shows the house was secure as any other would be. No place is completely secure. Perception is not reality. A steel door would only have meant that they had to break out a window to gain entry. A small delay at best. They could still get in if they wanted. And a steel door can be kicked in - the frame is still only wood.

You will be responsible for your own medical costs or you can file under the crime victims program for reinbursement. You should be charged for the rent, but possibly not for the damages. Send the LL a copy of the police statment and ask for reimbursement for the damages.