Broken pipes & no electricity!

[zxvtrp]

Indiana- I paid my lease and first months rent in Janurary. I didn't move in until February to find I had no water because my pipes froze and burst. Is that my responibility? My landlord says I was negligent and should have turned on my furnace in Janurary and the pipes wouldn't have burst. Why turn it on when I wasn't goung to use it? Do I have to turn on my furnace? I did crawl under the house to inspect the damage and found the pipes were wrapped in electrical heaters to keep them from freezing. Since my electricity quit working on one side of the house after I moved in, then the current was out to these pipe heaters to keep them warm enough. Also, the breaker in the box I was told to reset, just fell out of the box in my hand. He said I was responsible for that too! Seems to me, he should be responsibile for the pipes and electricity. My question is who is responsible?
Cold and dirty in Indiana.

 

[Cvillecpm]

OP writes...."Why turn it on when I wasn't goung to use it? " TO KEEP THE PIPES FROM FREEZING!!!

You * upon signing the lease * had custody, CARE and control of the property. YES, the heat should have been turned on and the temparature kept at at least 50degrees.

Yes, you are responsible eventhough you did not OCCUPY or LIVE IN the property. You are still responsible for the utilities and care of the property from the start of your lease.

Why did the electricity go out for half the house? Did you put the service in your name? Did you overload the circuits? Did you check the breaker/fuse? Did you reset any GFI in kitchen, bath or breaker box?

How does an electrical breaker "fall out of the box in your hand?"

 

[Who's Liable?]

OP writes...."Why turn it on when I wasn't goung to use it? " TO KEEP THE PIPES FROM FREEZING!!!

unless specifically informed in the lease, the tenant is not responsible.

Yes, you are responsible eventhough you did not OCCUPY or LIVE IN the property. You are still responsible for the utilities and care of the property from the start of your lease.

Unless specunless specifically informed in the lease, the tenant is not responsible for turning on the power.

Why did the electricity go out for half the house?

tenant is most likely not a qualified electrician, therefore would have no knowledge as to why the electricity went out.

Did you put the service in your name?

Unless specunless specifically informed in the lease, the tenant is not responsible for turning on the power.

Did you overload the circuits?

Most likely, OR the circuits may have already been in an overloaded position prior to the tenant moving in. Again, the tenant is not a qualified electrician and would not know.

Did you check the breaker/fuse? Did you reset any GFI in kitchen, bath or breaker box?

If these were already tripped, than it would be the LL's responsibility as to determining WHY the equipment was already tripped when the tenant moved in.

How does an electrical breaker "fall out of the box in your hand?"

It's fairly easy, the breaker is not securly fastened to the busbar in the panel, and it will literally fall out. This is EXTREMELY dangerous as the peson may be electrocuted. If the breaker is not secured properly, the LL needs to properly fix his equipment. Thus it would NOT be a tenant obligation, but a LL's.

 

[Alaska landlord]

Indiana- I paid my lease and first months rent in Janurary. I didn't move in until February to find I had no water because my pipes froze and burst. Is that my responsibility

The day you took possession of the property (accepted the keys), you became responsible. The landlord has no reason to enter and protect the property since you had custody of the property. Had he entered you would probably be complaining about illegal entry. Tenants cannot have it both ways. Your negligence most likely translated to damages in the thousands. And it DOES NOT have to be in the lease that you are responsible to turn the heating on the unit. The law assumes that you have some common sense.

Electricity quit working soon after you moved in?

That too was your responsibility to either correct or notify the landlord. You just don’t leave it like that.

Also, the breaker in the box I was told to reset, just fell out of the box in my hand.

And your hands just happened to be there waiting for the pieces. Your response is not to dissimilar to an 8 yr old child that got caught breaking a window. Daddy, I was just standing there and it broke.

Civillecpm got it right.

 

[treese]

Nice way to start a Landlord/Tenant relationship.

You are on the hook for the pipes freezing.


http://www.indiana.edu/~sls/landlord_tenant.html#37

As far as the electric going out - you should have notified the landlord immediately that is was not working. The LL would have been responsible to repair it.

The same applies for the breaker - the LL is responsible to maintain the electric, but if he does not know there is a problem, how can he fix it?