Hi,

Tenant calls and tells me someone busted down his front door. They ransacked his house, stole his flat screen TV, firestick and other things. I sent someone over to repair the door. I thought about putting him up for the night in a hotel but thought against it. The repair man says he secured the door enough so no one can came in. The guy lives alone.

What would you pay for in this situation?

My last tenant that got broken into did the following:

1) Kept their front window blinds open at night so anyone walking by could see their big screen tv and sound equipment.

2) Then on social media they kept on bragging about their new computer, TV and game consul.

I would pay for the damages to the property and then bill to the tenant. Per our lease:

"TENANT agrees to be responsible for and to pay all costs for the maintenance or repair of the premises and attachments caused by abuse, misuse, negligence, or lack of care by TENANT, TENANT’s guests, and/or any third parties on the premises either with or without TENANT’s permission.  This includes but is not limited to replacement of broken glass, broken storm windows, broken doors/doorjambs and locks, unclogging sewer lines, sinks, toilets, garbage disposals, electrical repairs caused by overloading of electrical circuits, and for all other repairs necessary.  Damages due to forced or unlawful entry are TENANT’s responsibility, regardless of who caused the damage.  It is not the LANDLORD's responsibility to determine who or what caused damages."

Etc. etc. etc.

As #22 said, most break-ins are caused by someone the tenant knows. How can we be so sure? Easy. Crimes are done when people know where and how to find money, valuable items and/or drugs.

Think about it. Pretend you are going to break into someone's house to steal stuff. Would you:

A) randomly smash into places and hope to find something

B) go after a house you know has lots of good stuff because you've been inside and seen it all

Did he file a police report? This is always a huge part of the equation for me. If he didn't file, then he knows/suspects who did it and doesn't want to tell on them. That means it is ALL on him to pay for damages.

If he DID file a police report, then I MAY consider paying for just the door as a one-time thing. Still depends though.

- John...

AL - who would pay for the damages if someone broke in your house and stole some of your things?

In case you're interested, I added that language about forced or unlawful entry to my lease after I had a case where a tenant reported a window was broken into her home. She had recently broken up with her BF. When I went to check it, there was still glass on the INSIDE, which strongly suggests someone from the OUTSIDE broke the window.

My guess? BF was angry at her and came back for money, drugs, revenge. She ended up getting evicted 2 months later for failure to pay rent. Not the most responsible person.

Someone loses their key and gets locked out? They smash a window / door in to avoid paying a lock smith and expect you to fix it. Nope. I don't play that game.

The lease says anything "beyond normal wear and tear" is tenant's responsibility. A smashed door/window is included in the word "anything".

My insurance agent has also dealt with cases where tenants hard up for money will break into their own house and ransack it to make it appear like their rent money was stolen and/or to make an insurance claim. One gal I think tried something similar with me once, saying she'd left her rent money on the coffee table and "someone" took it. This was back in the day when I would pick up rents in person (dangerous!), and she would pay in $100 bills. How dumb would you have to be to leave five $100 bills on the table in front of everyone in the household? My guess is she spent the money on something else and figured I'd give her a pass.

AL,

What does your lease say?

My lease is clear: "Damage of any kind, including all glass breakage, by the resident(s) or visitors, invited or uninvited, intended or accidental, is the responsibility of the resident.

Example: Neighbor's baseball breaks your window. Resident is responsible to repair. Resident may settle up with the baseball player.

Resident is required to carry renters' insurance."

Indiana's position is the res is to "protect" the home.

I send MY guy over immediately to take a TON of photos and secure the home at $50 per hour per the lease. Often it's just a repair to the jamb and not nearly as bad as the res describes over the phone. Or SUDDENLY the res can get the door closed and locked by himself for free!

If this clause is not in your lease, type it up and deliver it as your STANDARD POLICY.

Don't let HIS problem become YOUR problem with the exception you are to see that the home is secured.

BRAD

PS Plus I don't want to take the chance he'll mess up my nice front door.

I'd only fix / secure the door. I can't understand why he would need for you to put him up in a hotel?