apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

it is my understanding that the renter is responsible for any damages to personal property even if they are not at fault for the damage. I'm looking into renters insurance right now and from what I've learned, the building owners have insurance but you should get your own whenever you are renting. good luck!

As a condo owner whose ceiling sprang several leaks, I am fairly certain that the owner is going to be responsible for fixing the damage to the unit (inside and out). Obviously, if you already have a mold situation, you'll want to make sure that happens asap. Check out the various Illinois tenant advocacy groups like http://www.tenant.org/ or http://www.renters-rights.com/html/chicago.html

Unfortunately, damage to the contents of your apartment is your responsibility. I'm just guessing here, but if you are on the 3rd floor of your building, I'm not sure you have "flood damage" - it might be classified as just water damage. Which is probably covered because it could just as easily been caused by an overflowing tub from the unit above you. Call your insurance agent.

i alway post on these as i'm a licensed insurance agent. flood is considered the rising of groundwater, and is always written on a separate policy that is underwritten through FEMA.

regular water damage from rain that is not rising of groundwater...like in your situation where it's from your roof or walls....should be covered.

one word of advice...call the company, not your agent, if you want additional advice...or ask me. sometimes even an inquiry about whether something is covered or not can result in a claim being filed under your policy. this could cause your rate to go up.

sure does sound to me like you would want to make the claim anyway, if your deductible isn't too high.

let me know if you have other questions.

mannequingirl already pretty much covered it, but I live in a garden apartment so I specifically went over this with my State Farm agent when signing up for renter's insurance last year. I was specifically told that any water coming from above would be covered, not regular flooding, but what you had is not regular flooding. The personal property should be covered by your renter's insurance. Good luck.

mannequingirl--since you're an expert, perhaps you'd answer this slightly off-topic question. I just moved into a new place with my roommate. Do we get separate policies renter's insurance policies or a joint one? It seems silly to pay for two policies if we can split one like we do the electricity and the internet, but we're just roommates; not related, married or same sex domestic partners, so I don't know if we can be on the same policy.

Seems that this should be covered by the landlord - after all it was his defered maintenance on his building that caused the water damage in this person's apartment.

I had a similar situation here in San Francisco (leaky plumbing from a unit upstairs) and the building covered all my personal item damages as well as those of the upstairs neighbor - they even put me up in a hotel while the place was drying out.

Renter's insurance for roommates: I'd always have my own policy - I don't want to deal with someone else making a claim on a policy that has my name on it, and the insurance company won't deal w/ you at all if your roommate's name is on the policy.

*Should* be covered, but probably won't be, bepsf. I think your landlord was being admirably fair--many others will not be.

The Illinois tenants' union (tenant.org) seems to be a good resource for issues like this. I would suggest Laura give them a call to ask what your rights are.

I had a similar problem (came home Saturday to a puddle of water and leaking all through/along the bedroom wall of the third floor apartment that I just moved into). Luckily, the damage to my own property was minimal, but the landlady is already treating me like an inconvenience because I called her twice (once to report the damage, once two days later to ask about when repairs to the wall would be made.)

She blew me off when I said I was worried about mold...I couldn't even get up the nerve to ask about a partial rent rebate.

Oh, and the kicker? The repairs won't be done until October...because she and her husband are going on vacation.

THAT'S why the repairs won't be made until October?? That's insane!!! I was looking at some units in Rogers Park because they have some great newly renovated stuff up there but I was wary of the private owner route...it sounds like they are really really bad landlords to leave you like that! You know this isn't the last rain we're gonna have between now and then!!

Don't you hate how they make you feel when you make a complaint? My LL does the same thing to me...I never got the nerve to ask for a partial rent rebate because of the cockroaches I lived with for almost a year :( They weren't apologetic...they weren't concerned...they told me the exterminator would be out in a week (!)..and they basically gave me a "so what?" reaction when I called screaming because a full grown roach fell off the top of my closet door and almost landed on me! I also found one squished under my pillow....I finally had to threaten to call the city and the health department THEN the roaches disappeared.

The landlord's vacation notwithstanding, I think you need to keep in mind that many, many people experienced water damage over the weekend. There are a limited number of roofing companies and contractors available to do the work and it's going to take time to schedule.

I want my roof fixed asap and I'm still calling around to try and get someone to come look at it.

amiencc, I can't believe you lived with that for a year! If it was that bad I wouldn't have lived with it for even a month. Ugh!

But back on topic, I agree with the others. Find out what your policy is on water damage and go from there on your personal items. Don't relent with your landlord about damage to your apartment, though. They may try to convince you it's your fault so they don't have to do anything.

I have had a string of crappy landlords here in Chicago, and I would strongly advise you to look at the City of Chicago landlord/tenant ordinance. I don't think your landlord can delay repairs on your apartment because she's going on vacation. Mold can be a pretty serious problem and I wouldn't advise inhaling it for the next two weeks!

No repairs because the landlord has a vacation???

Then put all future rent payments into an escrow account and inform them that they'll get their payments when the repairs are made...

aimencc -- why didn't you call the health department? a YEAR? i have friends with cockroaches and it took them all of about 3 months to call the health department after the landlord not responding to their complaints about the cockroaches. additionally, they had an exterminator come in themselves and deducted the cost from rent. this is all legal with a 14-day letter (read up on it, at the sites others have listed).

This happened to me two years ago when I lived on the top floor of a four story building. The melting snow leaked through my ceiling, and when I called to report it, only a tiny crack was trickling water. I was told by the manager that it would be taken care of. I came home from my classes and a big chunk of the ceiling had collapsed, with noxious smelling rusty water steadily streaming into my carpet.

The water stained and ruined my wardrobe, destroyed my wall art, and seeped through the carpet and into the apartment below mine, AND into the apartment below theirs. It took two days to get someone to stop the leaking, and nearly a month before it got patched up. Later, I reported mold growing in my closet from the water damage, and after calling every day for nearly two weeks someone came in and painted over it.

I used the campus legal services to file a formal complaint, though I didn't have renter's insurance so I was never reimbursed for the damage done to my property. I did fight back, however, when management tried to CHARGE me for cleaning the carpet! They withheld my security deposit and I was on the phone bugging them (politely, of course, so they couldn't accuse me of belligerence) every day until I got it back.

I only with I could have prevented the next sucker from renting a moldy and damaged apartment painted to look shiny and new. DO NOT RENT FROM KATZ PROPERTIES.

*wish, not with. I type with a bit of a lisp, apparently. =)

lurker2209

you and your roomie should totally get separate policies. i actually don't think most preferred companies would write one for you together, anyway.

email me if any of you have other questions....iheartfancyshoes(at)gmail.com