The first thing that comes to mind would be to call your landlord. Could this be possible? Before you move into the rental, your landlord is obligated to ensure that the space is in pristine condition. If the matter is urgent , check if any of these issues are listed on the initial tenancy agreement. Some examples of urgent issues would include things like the bursting of pipes, flooding, and serious leakages.
The list could go on forever and the more questions you ask yourself, the more accurate the picture of the real consequences of a broken or clogged pipe you will have.
As you move down the list you can decide how you want to manage those risks one by one. For example, if we take the first item, if you live in an apartment block you might want to go to your body corporate and check out the terms of any insurance policies they hold for damage caused to a property as a result of a broken drain on adjoining apartment. You might then ask the maintenance manager or a qualified plumber friend what the likely costs of different types of pipe repairs would be, and what the current condition of the pipes in your property is.
You might also consider having a CCTV pipe inspection of your pipe network carried out to assess how likely it is that you will have troubles in future. If these investigations indicate a high probability of a broken sewer pipe or blocked drain occurring and that you could be responsible for not only the cost of fixing those pipes but also for rectifying the damage to adjoining homes, you should then find a way to manage shift or negate that risk.
Obviously cracks or breaks will need to be relined and guaranteed by a reputable company such as Nuflow, but if no breaks are evident you need to think about how you can protect yourself from the cost of clearing a blockage a tenant has caused.
If a threat cannot be removed altogether, SHIFTING responsibility to another party for the consequences of that risk occurring is a commonly used strategy. Of course there is still an onus on them a duty of care to ensure they have ticked every box in terms of safety and abiding by rules and guidelines but if something totally unforeseen or accidental happens outside of their foreseeable control, then your signature can be called in as evidence that you were aware of the risks and decided to jump anyway.
In terms of shifting responsibility for the cost of fixing blocked drains or relining broken pipes in your rental property, this can sometimes be as simple as having an insurance policy that will cover you. Even then, there could still be a claim excess to pay or increases to premiums following claims — so the second way you can shift responsibility is to move it to the tenant.
This is not easy but read on to see how it can at least partially be achieved. But as explained above, deciding responsibility for the cost of fixing a blocked drain is not so simple. The following case study has been reproduced from a companion article, and explains how just such a dispute arose between a landlord and tenant when a Brisbane homeowner Rob decided to move overseas for work and rent out his home.
In the first year the property was occupied by a married couple with a new baby and a two-year old. There were a number of issues the landlord was unhappy with during their tenancy gardens and lawns not cared for and complaints from neighbours about arguments late at night , so their lease was not renewed.
In the second year the property was rented by a single adult male Matt and his elderly mother. There were no further complaints and the house and gardens were being well cared for. The result was a hefty repair bill. He also said the pressure from the blockage had cracked the pipe, which meant after clearing it out, it had to be professionally relined with advanced composite resins. Rob decided to speak to Matt tenant himself to explain that he believed they had caused the blockage as the most visible and prolific item in the massive clog was the make-up wipes the mother used regularly.
He added that they were therefore liable for the damage costs. The Brisbane sewer cleaning and relining expert who carried out the repair was once again contacted and asked for a written report detailing what he believed had caused the issues with the broken sewer pipe. The pressure of the blockage had cracked the aging pipes leaving sewage to leak into the ground, and dirt to further clog the pipe.
The nappy: In the above example, one might initially presume the previous tenants were the ones who caused the sewer pipe blockage by placing nappies down the toilet. After all, they did have two small children and the current tenant had none. However, it is impossible to actually prove that fact. Finally, with the previous tenants gone and bond pay-outs settled, there would be virtually no way of recouping costs from them even if you were able to prove anything.
Even if it was deemed that the wipes were the major contributor to the blockage, does fault lie with the companies making these unrealistic claims about the biodegradability of their products or with the people who use such items and dispose of them in toilets without doing adequate research?
Additionally, would the wipes alone have caused such a blockage had the nappies not been flushed down the toilet in the first place? The pipes: Finally we come to the issue of the home owner himself.
Firstly Rob had not advised the tenants in writing or otherwise that such items were not to be flushed down the toilet in his property. Without such instruction, is it the owner or the tenant who should take responsibility for the blockage?
Also, pipes which may have been laid seventy years ago but were definitely at least 26 years old may not have been in great condition in the first place. They may have coped just fine when Rob, who worked full time and lived alone, was the only occupant but with larger family groups did pre-existing problems simply come to a head?
There could even have been breaks or cracks in the sewer pipe which had subsequently trapped all the other materials over the past two years. How long had it been since those pipes had been cleared or cleaned and what sort of on-going maintenance program had they enjoyed?
By his own admission, Rob had experienced no issues with his sewer pipes at all in the time he had lived there, and he had never even needed to worry about cleaning or clearing them. Similarly, as a landlord, keeping the channels of communication open will help with establishing a relationship of trust. If this were to happen, things could get messy, and you might need to involve an independent third party to help with mediating the issue.
Previous Next. Your email address will not be published. Cancel Post Comment. We had a blocked drain and the blockage was grease buildup. Our landlord is making us pay for it. Is this our responsibility or his.
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