[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text]<\/p>\n

This Probably Never Happened to you, but \u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0Unit #3 was just about ready for move-in.\u00a0 The unit had been painted and re-carpeted, but not cleaned.\u00a0 The owner was approached by a potential tenant who offered to clean the apartment in return for a $100 reduction in rent for the first month.\u00a0 Since her regular cleaning crew would not be able to do the job for two more days, the owner accepted the applicant\u2019s offer, and rented to him.<\/p>\n

Then the tragedy.\u00a0 Unknown to the owner, the tenant set about cleaning the kitchen with a highly volatile fluid, something like lacquer thinner.\u00a0 The fumes from the cleaning solution were ignited by the burner of the water heater, which was also located in the kitchen.\u00a0 The tenant attempted to smother the flames with a towel, and in the process received minor burns on his fore-arms.\u00a0 The burning fluid caused substantial damage to the water heater closet and surrounding areas of the kitchen.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The physical damage to the property amounted to more than $5000.<\/p>\n

The tenant, who could have burned down the landlord\u2019s building, sued the owner.\u00a0 No surprise there.<\/p>\n

In the lawsuit, the tenant made two rather interesting claims.\u00a0 He claimed that as he had not had the gas put into his names yet, he did not know that the gas was on in the house \u2026 and that the owner should have warned him of this fact.\u00a0 He also claimed that because of the value given to him in the form of a rent reduction in exchange for his services in cleaning the house, he became the landlord\u2019s employee, and thus entitled to an even higher duty by the \u201cbusiness owner\u201d to alert him to hazards of the workplace.<\/span> <\/i>\u00a0\u00a0They tenant won a large award.<\/p>\n

There are three lessons here.\u00a0 The first<\/b> is to be sure that your rental agreement clearly warns your tenants that the gas in your units is ALWAYS ON.\u00a0 The second<\/b> is to be sure that your rental agreement clearly cautions your tenants against the use of any flammable fluids or chemicals anywhere on the property.\u00a0 The third<\/b> is to never offer money to a tenant (or a rent reduction) in return for any service provided to the benefit of the property UNLESS you want this tenant to be viewed as your employee<\/span>.<\/b><\/p>\n

In this situation, the owner would have been far better off had she simply offered the unit to the tenant at a reduced rate, with no requirement that the tenant do any work for the property.<\/p>\n

Our approach is that we never, NEVER ask a tenant to do something whereby they MIGHT be hurt.\u00a0 If a tenant complains of ants, we have suggested that they use \u201cGrant\u2019s Ant Stakes\u201d (they actually work).\u00a0 However, we would never tell a tenant to set a mouse-trap or a rat-trap, even if it\u2019s something you think that they should be able to do.\u00a0 THINK of the consequences, the liability, if we were to tell a tenant to set a trap, and that tenant was injured by the trap.\u00a0 And quite obviously, TENANTS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH DEAD RODENTS.\u00a0 (Imagine if you were in a hotel, and called the manager about rats.\u00a0 Then imagine what you would think if they brought YOU a trap and some bait, and told YOU to take care of the problem).<\/p>\n

This business continues to be about customer service, avoiding liability, and attention to details.\u00a0 It has worked well for us.<\/p>\n

Dear Readers: This article is the 161st <\/b>in a series based on the lessons we have learned the hard way.\u00a0 The contents of these articles are merely opinions of the writer.\u00a0 They are not intended as specific legal advice and should not be relied upon for that purpose.\u00a0 Our practice is in constant refinement as we adjust the way we operate to an ever- changing market.\u00a0 I appreciate your questions, comments, suggestions, and solutions.\u00a0 Contact C. Finley Beven, JD, CPM, CCAM,\u00a0\u00a0 99 S. Lake Avenue,\u00a0 Pasadena.\u00a0 (626) 243-4145.\u00a0\u00a0 FinBeven@msn.com<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 www.BevenandBrock.com<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text] This Probably Never Happened to you, but \u2026 \u00a0Unit #3 was just about ready for move-in.\u00a0 The unit had been painted and re-carpeted, but not cleaned.\u00a0 The owner was approached by a potential tenant who offered to clean the apartment in return for a $100 reduction in rent for the first month.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

This Probably Never Happened to you, but \u2026<\/p>

\u00a0Unit #3 was just about ready for move-in.\u00a0 The unit had been painted and re-carpeted, but not cleaned.\u00a0 The owner was approached by a potential tenant who offered to clean the apartment in return for a $100 reduction in rent for the first month.\u00a0 Since her regular cleaning crew would not be able to do the job for two more days, the owner accepted the applicant\u2019s offer, and rented to him.<\/p>

Then the tragedy.\u00a0 Unknown to the owner, the tenant set about cleaning the kitchen with a highly volatile fluid, something like lacquer thinner.\u00a0 The fumes from the cleaning solution were ignited by the burner of the water heater, which was also located in the kitchen.\u00a0 The tenant attempted to smother the flames with a towel, and in the process received minor burns on his fore-arms.\u00a0 The burning fluid caused substantial damage to the water heater closet and surrounding areas of the kitchen.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The physical damage to the property amounted to more than $5000.<\/p>

The tenant, who could have burned down the landlord\u2019s building, sued the owner.\u00a0 No surprise there.<\/p>

In the lawsuit, the tenant made two rather interesting claims.\u00a0 He claimed that as he had not had the gas put into his names yet, he did not know that the gas was on in the house \u2026 and that the owner should have warned him of this fact.\u00a0 He also claimed that because of the value given to him in the form of a rent reduction in exchange for his services in cleaning the house, he became the landlord\u2019s employee, and thus entitled to an even higher duty by the \u201cbusiness owner\u201d to alert him to hazards of the workplace.<\/span> <\/i>\u00a0\u00a0They tenant won a large award.<\/p>

There are three lessons here.\u00a0 The first<\/b> is to be sure that your rental agreement clearly warns your tenants that the gas in your units is ALWAYS ON.\u00a0 The second<\/b> is to be sure that your rental agreement clearly cautions your tenants against the use of any flammable fluids or chemicals anywhere on the property.\u00a0 The third<\/b> is to never offer money to a tenant (or a rent reduction) in return for any service provided to the benefit of the property UNLESS you want this tenant to be viewed as your employee<\/span>.<\/b><\/p>

In this situation, the owner would have been far better off had she simply offered the unit to the tenant at a reduced rate, with no requirement that the tenant do any work for the property.<\/p>

Our approach is that we never, NEVER ask a tenant to do something whereby they MIGHT be hurt.\u00a0 If a tenant complains of ants, we have suggested that they use \u201cGrant\u2019s Ant Stakes\u201d (they actually work).\u00a0 However, we would never tell a tenant to set a mouse-trap or a rat-trap, even if it\u2019s something you think that they should be able to do.\u00a0 THINK of the consequences, the liability, if we were to tell a tenant to set a trap, and that tenant was injured by the trap.\u00a0 And quite obviously, TENANTS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH DEAD RODENTS.\u00a0 (Imagine if you were in a hotel, and called the manager about rats.\u00a0 Then imagine what you would think if they brought YOU a trap and some bait, and told YOU to take care of the problem).<\/p>

This business continues to be about customer service, avoiding liability, and attention to details.\u00a0 It has worked well for us.<\/p>

Dear Readers: This article is the 161st <\/b>in a series based on the lessons we have learned the hard way.\u00a0 The contents of these articles are merely opinions of the writer.\u00a0 They are not intended as specific legal advice and should not be relied upon for that purpose.\u00a0 Our practice is in constant refinement as we adjust the way we operate to an ever- changing market.\u00a0 I appreciate your questions, comments, suggestions, and solutions.\u00a0 Contact C. Finley Beven, JD, CPM, CCAM,\u00a0\u00a0 99 S. Lake Avenue,\u00a0 Pasadena.\u00a0 (626) 243-4145.\u00a0\u00a0 FinBeven@msn.com<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 www.BevenandBrock.com<\/a><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2721,"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/920\/revisions\/2721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bevenandbrock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}