Hi Moms. We've been having some strange weather...especially the windy conditions. Yesterday evening, my husband noticed that our backyard fence was in pieces and all over the place. We share a fence with our neighbor. We tried contacting our landlord, left him a message. We woke up this morning and more than half of the fence is gone. Our neighbor is upset about the whole thing. We took pictures of the fence this morning. I also emailed our landlord's wife with a couple of the photos. Our landlord would be responsible for this, right?
The only reason I ask is, every time something goes wrong with the home(externally), it seems as though they(landlord) expects us to pay for it. I mean, we do keep the house together and clean. I would like confirmation on this situation. We still haven't heard from them.
Time to read the lease. Leases tell all on who is responsible for what. Also the fence could be on the neighbors side...
Its their problem! Anything that breaks down that you didnt break is their problem, give the neighbors the landlords number and email if they give you anymore grief.
Certainly not for you to fix (unless you did the breaking - which you didn't).
If the neighbor has any issue, tell them to call the homeowner.
The home owner (your land lord or the neighbor depending who owns the fence) is responsible to fix it.
Storm damage I would think would be a homeowners insurance thing.
Renters insurance covers damage to your belongings and you do not own the fence.
Fixing it doesn't necessarily mean replacing it - he might just take it down altogether.
If it were damage that you (the renter) caused (like you personally drove through the fence), the cost of fixing it would be taken out of your security deposit.
Whose fence is it? Did the neighbors and your landlords go in together? If not and its the landlords fence, its his responsibility. He owns the property not you. I wouldn't pay to fix it.
Here in my state because we live in a house we are required to fix anything that goes wrong after the first 30 days unless it has beein shown that the issue was caused by the owners/builders of the house. It should say in the lease. Get a copy of it! If it doesn't say in the lease I would google what the laws are in California.
In Texas, if it worked when youmoved in, they have to maintain it. There is a gray area if it is something you broke yourself, but technically they still are responsible for upkeep and repairs. Landlord insurance policies even cover damage done by renters and pays the landlord rent money if the house is unlivable while they repair it. It's his deal. That's the joy of being a renter, rather than a homeowner.
The landlord is expected to cover it.
Maybe try to call your city's fair housing office & see what they say?
If its weather related its the landlord or the neighbor whoever owns the fence. If its you guys messing around causing the fence to break its up to you to fix it no matter who owns it. Contact you recters ins and have them contact whoever owns the fence. gl and stick to your guns.
It is both your landlords responsibility and the adjacent neighbor's if it a fence that separates the two homes. If your landlord drags his feet you should offer to have his half taken it out of your rent if it needs to get done right away?
Hi,
It is the landlord's responsibility to pay for the fence. That is why they have home owners insurance. You are not responsible for the damage, so you are not reaping for the cost. You should have your neighbor contact them directly as it is between them. Also, you should tell them that going forward any repairs they want you to pay for that isn't your fault, you will deduct it from your rent and make sure to keep all receipts and documents. Don't do anything without first having it in writing. That is for your protection. That is exactly how we handles these issues when we were landlords.
Check out: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/problems....
It clearly establishes what California law says is the tenants vs. landlord's responsibility.
If he owns the house, then HE is responsible to the homeowner's regulations of the neighborhood (if any) - not you. Tell your neighbor you've been in contact with the landlord, and then give him the landlord's information he wants to contact him himself. While you, technically, are living next to him and sharing a fence, your landlord is ACTUALLY his neighbor.
Oh - and my parents were landlords in Texas - it's not a "if it worked when you moved in" situation. If the A/C went out while the tenant was living there but worked when they moved in, then they were NOT responsible for replacing the A/C unit. If the A/C stopped working because they never replaced the A/C filter, then they would bear some burden of the cost of repair.
The house, the appliances, and the property (including the fence) are owned and used to make a profit by your landlord. They were there before you moved in and they will be there after you move out. They are the landlord's responsibilities.
Uh, yeah, it's his job not yours. And if you have any dogs he has to fix it immediatly because it's an insurance liability for him to have a fence that's down on a rental property that has tenants with dogs.
Whose fence is it? If the posts are in the neighbors yard it's his fence. If there in your yard the landlord is responsible. Do you have renters ins.? If so call your company and let them deal with the owner of the fence. When you rent the owner of the property is responsible for all normal wear and tear. If it's vandelism or neglect on your part it then will fall on the owner to prove.. the fence goes on the outside of the posts so who ever has the posts on his side is the owner.( I now this from a little dispute years ago with our neighbors when we replaced a chain link with a cedar fence. He took us to court claiming it was his fence, posts on our side we won)
It is absolutely the landlord's responsibility to fix the fence, as well as everything external and internal that you did not damage/break.
They should pay for it! I am a landlord, and a fence in good condition shouldn't fall down in some wind, and the landlord should totally pay for that.
It's the landords responsiblity to upkeep the property. YOU did not damage the fence-that is the only way you could have any responsiblity in this case. Please pester your landlord. Or even better, your neighbor should contact your landlord about working out the fence repair. It is the resposiblity of the owners of BOTH properties to repair a shared fence. They should work it out.
Typically a shared fence rebuild or repair is split between the owners of the properties. So, the cost should be split 50/50 between your landlord (owner of the property you live on) and the owner of the shared lot (your neighbor if they own the lot). There is no reason (ethically or legally) that you should be required to pay for any repairs to the property you stay on other than the normal wear and tear (which should already be covered in your security deposit). Unless the downed fence is causing hazard or distress, it should be up to your neighbor to be negotiating with your landlord how/when this situation will be taken care of.
You are not the property owner. The property owner can sue you if you make any permanent changes to the property without written consent.
So, I would assume you must speak to him face to face about this issue and only clean up the area to keep someone from getting hurt and being able to sue the property owner and you, for allowing a safety hazard.
You should check your lease or rental agreement to see what the landlord's obligations are. I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that legally he/she must keep it in "habitable" condition. That includes fixing the roof, toilet, etc. But a fence might not be a legal obligation. If you need help negotiating with your landlord, or your neighbor, and money is a problem, check to see if your county has a legal aid or mediation group that can help you.
Good luck.
It may depend on what your lease says. The winds yesterday were absolutely crazy. We had very large strong pine trees just snap in the wind. Needless to say, some parts of our fences came down, too. You also need to figure out who's actually responsible for the fence. Just because you share with a neighbor doesn't mean you have to split the cost - though it would be great.
Good luck getting it figured out!
If you didn't damage the fence or knock it down and it's not stated in your rental agreement that you would accept responsibility for repairs to the fence, then the landlord will have to fix it and work things out with the neighbors or whoever co-owns the fence.
If the wind blew part of the roof off, he would be responsible for that too. It's his house, why should you have to pay for something belongs to him, especially if you didn't do the damage?
He may drag his feet about it though. Perhaps your neighbor should contact your landlord directly and see if it can be resolved that way.
I think part of the answer to this lies in who holds the homeowner's insurance.... and that would be the landlord. As someone else mentioned, the neighbor probably also needs to pitch in with the repairs, unless the neighbor is also renting. In that case the neighbor's landlord and your landlord should be responsible for the cost of it. If you can do some of the physical work of the repairs, I think it would be a good idea to offer to do so and help save the landlord some money on the cost of the repairs, since the fence is more of a direct benefit to you than it is to the landlord.
You need to review your lease and figure out why the landlord keeps dumping all the expense on you! Fight back.
Unless you caused the fence collapse (like by driving into it!), then it's part of the property and it's the landlord's responsibility.
Normal wear & tear, acts of nature, and failures by poor contractors are all the landlord's responsibility. If the tenants put a bunch of stuff down the garbage disposal, flood the basement because they left a hose running, or clog the toilet by a kid throwing a sneaker in there, then it's the tenants' responsibility. Otherwise, it's the landlord's. Make a list of past repairs that were unfairly shifted onto you and document things - then check with your city's housing office about recourse.
Ignore the neighbor, pick up the pieces, read the lease. The lease is what is binding in the courts. Even if your landlord verbally said he is responsible, its not legal. What the lease says goes. If the lease states he is liable for all things on the property, your golden, if not then you pay OR you fix it. If its on your property you have the option to fix it or not, If it is a wall the neighbor uses, say to keep a dog confined. TOO BAD they need to fix that issue on there own. Tell them the situation, they may not be aware. Our neighbors patio fencing blew down a few weeks ago, it was a heavy cedar thing, and it blew over to our lilac bushes that we use to line the property for privacy. It broke a bunch of the bushes so bad they had to be dug out. Leave a large gap in the hedge. A hedge can be replanted but it will take years to regain that size and shape. SO now we are exposed to them and the street. They were not going to pay for replacing the bushes, but we went to the city with the complaint, and per their Home Insurance it was covered and now they paid for the bush replacement but not the hard feeling between us. We were never like friends before but we just respected each others space, now they go out of there way, for sneers, glares, comments. They are elderly, and we have young kids and it makes me mad the way they are acting.
Hello:
I'm not sure what your lease says or if it even addresses this issue, however it's the overiding document on these issues. The property OWNER is generally responsible for repairs to the property, unless you caused the damage.
If you have problems with the landlord getting the fence fixed, take a look at all of the renters rights information on the State of California website. It's been very helpful for me in past situations and has helped the landlord stop dragging their feet when I've shown that they are in fact responsible for certain things. Unless fixing things on the property is stated in your lease, it's not your responsibility to have this fixed. I would put the neighbor in contact with your landlord and let them work it out. This is not your responsibility to coordinate. Good luck!
It depends on your lease! If it is not specified in the lease that you are responsible for it, then you are not. However with things like a fence the landlord can choose not to fix it, if they don't want to spend the money on it.
BTW this goes for all the other things that break around the house as well. Unless it is specified in your contract the LL should pay for it.
Good luck.
Your landlord is responsible for everything UNLESS caused by you as the tenant.
Look into DFEH website on what the tenants rights are and what the landlord is required to do. Tell your neighbor to contact the landlord directly as well and follow up by showing your neighbor you back them up. They will value you as the tenant by you supporting their attempts to reach the landlord as well.
Good luck!
It's the landlord's responsibility, no doubt about it. Don't hold your breath though, we lived with a fallen over fence for 6 months at our last place! The best thing you can do is give your neighbor the landlord's contact info and let them bug him.
