The tenant did not pay rent Sept. and Oct. I mailed precise details, registered mail which went undelivered re:acting LL in my absence.

While I was out of the US several weeks the water heater of my rental house ruptured Oct. 10 and tenny went to Lowe's and has a receipt for the new one. No rent was tendered during my absence but the new water heater is installed. I am having financial perturbations and know tenny should tender the amount difference between the costs of the new unit and the two months rent. If tenny doesn't explain and refuses to pay the difference between the new water heater and the two month rental what would landlords do?

But I need cost details to proceed.

I'm on cruise now but this really caught my eye. First ur tenant isn't a licensed plumber and has no RIGHT replacing your water heater no matter how well intentioned they may THINK or you may THINK it was. They the tenants pay rent-- you intern keep your rental up to par. When rolls are reversed your the tenant and they become the none paying boss of you.

You need to get a licensed person over there to make sure the install was done properly and doesn't kill someone-- because guess what you'll be on the hook for it. Bill them for the visit.

LL's stop taking the easy way out on work to be done. It's easy to get yourself off the hook by saying tenant did repair but gee's you collect rent for that work to be done by you.

Now you know that you can't just go out of town without having some kind of a replacement, a 'go to' guy.

As for the details:

- Who did the job? It must be to code.

- Besides the WH unit, what else did the installer replace?

- Did he replace:

- the water supply connectors?

- the cold side shut off valve?

- the gas valve and connector (if gas WH)?

- Any vent parts?

- earthquake straps?

- what did he do with the old WH?

- Is there damage to floors, walls?

Make sure that the WH was ACTUALLY WAS REPLACED.

If you want to know how much to deduct from the rent, just add installation (roughly $300 for a straight replacement) to the cost of the WH.

live,

Not sure I understand the part about undelivered registered mail. But I will say my Landlordy-Sense BS Meter is in the red danger zone.

Did they contact your handyman or back up LL?

Unless there is more to the story, something is amiss.

No rent for 2 months?? Res coughs up cash for a new water heater??

I suspect they will hit you with a bill from their "Brother In Law In Construction" for a gazillion dollars or the highest priced company they saw on TV.

Get eyes on the new WH, check the date on the serial number, get a pro to examine the install for correct and legal for your own CYA protection. Does your town requires a permit?

I hope I'm wrong but these deals seldom work cleanly.

Next, why are they not on autodraft? You would not be in this predicament with autodraft.

BRAD

They are too stupid to know that the world does not work the way they wish.

Time to educate the tenants......start eviction NOW

they pay 100% of the rent and you pay back the invoices, bills, receipts the property incurs - a 1099 , Insurance ,lien waver, warranty card are needed for work performed. Then and only then is it reimbursed.

live,

Here’s what I see based on your description.

Res did not pay rent on Sept 1 and again on Oct 1.

Evict. They have decided to no longer pay rent.

They might be gone.

Meanwhile put on your manager hat and get over there to look at the WH because they will use that against you in court. They might be scamming you. I hope I’m wrong.

In 41 years I’ve never had a WH “burst”, only leak.

Best of luck!