Apartment Flood Due To Maintenance Issue Payment Requested

My father and I came to Arcadia California to help my Grandmother move from her apartment. She currently does not live their and is in a nursing home due to health complications, which leaves my father and I to do all the sorting and cleaning of the apartment to make the move.

In the middle of August 2013, my father and I experienced problems with flushing the toilets and experiencing consistant clogging with nothing more than normal human waiste, hardly even toilet paper due to plumbing problems from previous events. There are about 20 apartments in the complex and our apartment is second in line from the main sewage line with 5 units after us. The unit we are in has a car port below and the apartment above. The carport pooled with sewage leaking from the sewage plug. It had to be removed and cleared out, apparently the unit next to us was flushing baby wipes, which caused a blockage according to the Landlord.

One week later, my father and I were out of the apartment doing some errands when I recieved a phone call from the Landlord informing me that our apartment was flooded with about an inch of water in just about the entire apartment. We came home (mind you we have only been gone 2 hours) to find this much flood water and damage. The Property Manager, Landlord and Plumber claimed that because the toilet had a leaking flapper and a compacted blockage, the water leaked out of the toilet causing the flood. 

Upon further inspection, the "water" was sewage comprised of feces, urine, and everything else imaginable. For the amount of water that was inside the apartment, it would be impossible for a leaking flapper to cause this. A more pluasible explanation would be back up from all the other units flushing their toilets, taking showers, etc and the only place the waiste water could exit was this toilet because the sewage line makes 90 degree turns to go around a pool and courtyard. The Landlord specified that because you would have a gallon of water per minute leaking, it seems that it was just a clogged toilet. However, this would mean that the flapper would need to be completely removed and there is still too much water for this to be true. My father is a master plumber and did some calculations figuring out that it would take approximately 5 days for a leaking flapper to cause this much water. Mind you, the way the Landlord noticed the flood was because there was water gushing down from the ceiling in the carport (more water that cannot be calculated).

Upon arriving home, the clean up crew had many bags of wet debris that was hauled down to the dumpster. Carpet dryers were left in the apartment overnight to dry the carpet. All of our belongings, items we had packed, items being sorted were now in all dis array and in many piles in each room causing us another two weeks of time lost in the move. The second day, half of the bedroom, den, and livingroom carpet were ripped up and discarded. The wood floors were and still are stained with sewage and there is a wet spot that will not dry in the den. Because much of the carpet was taken up, carpet fibers were all over the floor apartment along with the carpet nails sticking up. The Board of Health was never contacted. Myself, and my father both became ill more than once living in these less than livable conditions so we decided to stay at a very cheap motel in hopes that the Landlord would provide some restitution.

The Property Manager had a cleaning crew come and clean the bathroom that flooded and the kitchen. The floors were not cleaned or vacuumed, one bed was destroyed upon many other items, and the master bed was also ruined. Because we became ill, we asked for the floors where the carpet was taken up to be cleaned and also to have the apartment tested for any bacteria or viruses. More than a full week later an Enviromentalist Lab came to take samples to test. The next day another cleaning crew of five people came and cleaned the floors. The next day we were told another Enviromental Test would be done. And then two days later, another Enviromental Test was done. Three in total. We asked for the first one, not the other two. Coliform was found on August 30th and we just found out that it was found today, September 9th, 2013. 

Testing and cleaning is to be expected in a situation like this. The Property Manager claims this is a Tenant Issue, not a Maintenance Issue because the flood would not have happened if the toilet did not have a leaking flapper. The Landlord is very nice, and we told the Property Manager the day of the flood that we notified the Landlord of the leaking flapper months ago, and on more than one occassion. And my Grandmother and Step-Grandfather had also notified them a year ago regarding it. The Property Manager turned to the Landlord and asked him if this is true, in which he replied yes. He was yelled at, and we even stuck up for the Landlord saying in his defense that these toilets have always had problems and no one had been in the apartment for about six months. Nontheless, the Landlord was made to fix the toilet immediately.

We asked for some retribution for the motel we stayed at ($40 a night). Not only did we not get that, we are being told that the flood is a tenant problem and nothing can be done. Not only that, it gets better, the Landlord, I’m sure was repromanded because he is now changing his story as to him being told about the leaking flapper, and he has to check his maintenance log. He delivered a letter today that not only are we not getting the security deposit back, but, we got a bill for over $1,000.00 for the lab test, (mind you we only asked for one, the results were in long ago and given to us today and we are taking care of my 85 year old Grandmother who just had undergone major surgery and we stayed at here room the first few nights to save money). There are 2 more bills on the way for the Lab testing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we will get charged for the cleaning and the Property Manager wants to put down new carpet over the feces and urine stained wood for the new tenants when we vacate.

In the beginning, the Landlord admitted in front of the Property Manager, his boss, that he was told about the leaking flapper many times. The Property Manager claims that the flood was not caused by a sewage back up, just a leaking flapper. If it was sewage, it would be a maintenance problem, but because it was a leaking flapper, it’s a tenant problem. If it was told in advance to the Landlord, it would be a maintenance issue. Well, I guess the Landlord is changing his story, because when he talks to us (off the record) he admits to a degree that he knew about the leaking flapper. However, to the Property Manager, it wasn’t clear.

I am not paying thousands of dollars for an event that had nothing to do with me in a home that isn’t mine due to a greedy and incompetant Property Manager and Landlord. 

My father has Power of Attorney with my Grandmother, we are guests here. The Property Manager told us directly if we would have told the Landlord about the leaking flapper than he could help us, when he learned we did, he made up another excuse (we have to check the log books). I am going to review the Lease Agreement. I am going to contact a lawyer and the Board of Health. From what I understand, many things that should have been done, were not. Every correspondence we had with the Property Manager was through the mail, no mention of payment for Lab Testing anywhere. We requested it once, not three times. He has become very quiet as well. My father and I are almost done with cleaning the apartment, we both have to get home and leave by the latest on the 12th of September. 

Please, any and all information, recources, cheap tenant attorneys, advice, opinions, and questions are welcomed and so much appreciated. Murphy’s Law is following us around ever since we have arrived in California. Please give us peace.