# Rented house vacated due to flood damage LL obliged to find alternative accomodation?



## Westie123 (27 Dec 2010)

If a rented house has be vacated due to extensive flood damage, is the landlord responsible/liable to find alternative accomodation for the tenants?

Thanks


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## twofor1 (27 Dec 2010)

I would think as long as the tenants did not cause the extensive flood damage, then the landlord would be obliged to offer reasonable alternative accommodation or if the tenant preferred, forego the rent until the property was made habitable again.


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## Westie123 (27 Dec 2010)

twofor1 said:


> I would think as long as the tenants did not cause the extensive flood damage, *then the landlord would be obliged to offer reasonable alternative accommodation* or if the tenant preferred, forego the rent until the property was made habitable again.



The property is uninhabitable until it is repaired, and tenants have to move out. What I'm asking is the landlord obliged to find and pay for an alternative, or is it up to the tenants to find other accommodation? They will not be paying any rent for the damaged property while it is being repaired.


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## ajapale (28 Dec 2010)

Have you tried treshold.ie with the question?


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## Towger (28 Dec 2010)

The not my fault/problem syndrome. The answer is of course NO.


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## DonKing (28 Dec 2010)

What does it say in your lease?

I don't see why the landlord should be responsible for housing a tenant when there is an accident etc. which requires the house to be vacated for repairs? The tenant of course is entitled to get a refund of any rent paid in advance until the property is habitable again as the property is not available to live in. The landlords insurance should cover him for loss of rent while he is getting the house repaired and you can use your rent money to find alternative accomodation. The cost of the alternative accomodation will probably be dearer but I think it's a bit unfair to expect the landlord to fund this difference. The landlord is leasing a particular property to you, he is not making a binding agreement to house you.

If there was a legal requirement for a landlord to re-house a tenant then standard insurance for rented properties would cover the costs of alternative accommodation for the tenant.....which it doesn't

Do you have insurance for your own belongings(landlords insurance would not cover your belongings?) Does your insurance cover you in the event that the house you rent becomes inhabitable? You might find in your lease that it states that you should have your own insurance for your belongings.


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## twofor1 (28 Dec 2010)

If you hire a car and it breaks down you would expect and get a replacement car from the rental company.

If your hotel room flooded, you would expect and get another room.

Why would it be different for the landlord ? he has agreed to provide accommodation for his tenant, admittedly through no fault of the landlord the accommodation is now uninhabitable but I think the landlord still has obligations to his tenants.

If my rental property flooded I would make every reasonable effort to find suitable temporary accommodation for my tenants at my expense, if this was not acceptable to them, they could then make their own arrangements and not pay rent until the property is habitable again.

My rental property contents insurance on an apartment covers temporary accommodation up to €5K


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## ajapale (30 Dec 2010)

twofor1 said:


> If you hire a car and it breaks down you would expect and get a replacement car from the rental company.
> 
> If your hotel room flooded, you would expect and get another room.



Im not sure about these analogies!

If you rented a field from a land owner and it flooded would the land owner be obliged source a different field for you?


aj


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## sam h (30 Dec 2010)

I guess it would depend on the aarngement with the tenants.

I notified my tenants before the cold snaps (due to a letter from my insurance company) that they must ensure the house was adequately heated and that they must notify me if they would be away from the house for any lenght of time over 24hrs so I could keep a check.  They should also notify me if they were having problems funding the heating, as I would come to an agreement with them (never came to that & not 100% sure of what I would have agreed)

If there was a major leak, you may have to decide how long it's going to take to get the house habitable again & if the cost of getting it done in a rush.  It may be better to part ways with the tenant if it's going to cost €100 per night for 2 & the rent is only, say €700, per month. It could take close to a month to get everything done....depending on how bad it is.  That would cost € 3000 in hotels.  Not all insurance policies cover alternative accomodation, especially if the insurance company decides not to pay out if enough steps were not taken to avoid the leaks.


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