Water Damage -- Who is liable for the damage to the sheetrock?

Ok here is the deal. And any help or insight would be appreciated..

I signed an apt lease in june but then had something come up where i needed to move back home. I explained the situation to the landlord but was unable to get out of my lease. No big deal so for the past however many months i have been mailing my landlord a money order for the rent until my lease is up.

Today i was told she was trying to mail me a money order back there is a leak in my apartment and they would explain more tomorrow. When i asked if i should mail next months rent to them she said to hold on to it.

Who is going to be held liable for the damage to the sheetrock and such? I had no possesions in the apartment so nothing of mine got damaged?

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered Ok here is the deal. And any help or insight would be appreciated.. I signed an apt lease in june but then had something come up where i needed to move back home. I explained the situation to the landlord but was unable to get out of my lease. No big deal so for the past however many months i have been mailing my landlord a money order for the rent until my lease is up. Today i was told she was trying to mail me a money order back there is a leak in my apartment and they would explain more tomorrow. When i asked if i should mail next months rent to them she said to hold on to it. Who is going to be held liable for the damage to the sheetrock and such? I had no possesions in the apartment so nothing of mine got damaged?

It depends on HOW the sheetrock got damaged as to who is responsible to pay for it. If you were careless and left water running in the apartment somewhere, then YOU could be held responsible. If it was a result of a leak or some other plumbing issue, then it would be the LL's issue.

thanks so much for the response. I am pretty sure everything was turned off considering my last day in the apt was around the end of june and its now 8 months later. When they call tomorrow i guess im just going to listen to what the LL has to say.

I dont understand why they would ask me to not make a rent payment for the upcoming months though ? Thats whats confusing me....

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered thanks so much for the response. I am pretty sure everything was turned off considering my last day in the apt was around the end of june and its now 8 months later. When they call tomorrow i guess im just going to listen to what the LL has to say. I dont understand why they would ask me to not make a rent payment for the upcoming months though ? Thats whats confusing me....

They may have made the discovery of the water damage when inspecting the property and getting it ready for a new tenant. But without their reasons, I couldn't really speculate any further.

All I know is that if they told me not to mail the money order, I would tell them to put that in writing. If they won't, then include a letter along with the rent you will go ahead and mail anyway. Include instructions for them to return the money order if they don't need it, and to include a letter stating that. You don't want to get caught NOT paying the rent and end up with an eviction and judgment on your record.

[Stephen]

The agreement between you both is important and also how the damage happened will finally decide who is bearing the repair charges if any. (see the link on my profile page)