State Specific Question About: IOWA (IA)

If your lease is silent and she is looking for you to provide her with some relief you can consider it.

Personally, the mortgage co would laugh at me if I asked them the same thing, so tough. If nothing else she stored her stuff there and it was dry and protected. Should she not have to pay rent if she has to leave town because her mom is sick?

Now my wife might, step in and be compassionate so she might get something but my initial response is no.

I've never been in a situation where there is an act of god. What do mortgage companies do (would insurance cover staying somewhere else)? Do you not pay your mortgage during this time? Could she have gotten help from a local church or charity? The week she stayed there was her choice. But the evacuation week needs to be addressed.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune - saw pictures on the news and looked about as bad as your description indicates.

First - check your lease - what does it say about a situation like this? My lease covers disasters and acts of God as they relate to the occupancy of the property.

If your lease is silent on this unpleasant subject, and depending on your state law, I would expect that if the tenant chose to move to a temporary dwelling where she incurred some cost, that would be on her nickel, because you are not responsible for the condition of the property which rendered it temporarily uninhabitable. She incurred extra cost due to the flood and so did you - your cost of repair is probably greater than her cost of temporary housing.

If she moved somewhere where she had no additional cost, then she has (arguably) had no damage.

I have a duplex outside of St. Louis that flooded this year in the Spring. My tenants were without a home for exactly 4 weeks. Luckily, they were given enough notice to move their items to a storage unit, so nothing of theirs was damaged.

In our case, I rebated rent for a full month. Additionally, I paid for that period's electric and water bill, since both were used for cleanup and rehab.

I don't know what the answer is, but I felt due to the inconvenience, it was fair. My tenants both stayed in a local hotel for nearly the entire time, and you can imagine what that cost them.

rebate the rent. she is not responsible for the flood. you are not responsible for the flood. but you did offer to provide her a place to live, and she couldn't.

Thanks Peter!

Mortgage/rent = apples/oranges.

Buying a property with a mortgage is not equal to renting a place for a period of time. What mortgage company would expect of owner is not equivalent to LL's duty to renter.

This from my lease pertaining to damage to premises due to acts of nature:

The rental provided for herein shall then be accounted for by and between Lessor and Lessee up to the time of such injury or destruction of the Premises, Lessee paying rentals up to such date and Lessor refunding rentals collected beyond such date. Should a portion of the Premises thereby be rendered untenantable, the Lessor shall have the option of either repairing such injured or damaged portion or terminating this Lease. In the event that Lessor exercises its right to repair such untenantable portion, the rental shall abate in the proportion that the injured parts bears to the whole Premises, and such part so injured shall be restored by Lessor as speedily as practicable, after which the full rent shall recommence and the Agreement continue according to its terms.

Bill [TX]

Your relationship with the tenant is a business one.

You failed to provide the protection required, if half the property was fine then it was not necessarily an act of God, but neglect to disclose on your part...

There are always 2 sides, want to go to Court and defend your position.

You could loose, swallow it, and move on, floods don't happen every day, and good tenants are hard to find...and a good lawyer for this case is easy to find, and will be a waste of your time and nerves...

Jen, the best thing to do is to rebate her just the 5-6 days she was evacuated--not the amount of time she had no elec--because she chose to return. No matter what is said above you and your mortgager, and you and your tenants do NOT have a situation that equates. When your tenant paid you the rent they had every expectation that they would be able to utilize the premesis for all of that month. They paid the whole month in advance to occupy the rental, but had to go elsewhere at extra cost to live part of that month. Even tho the flood was not your fault--you shd rebate the tenant the orig 5-6 days.

brad is right.. you area already filing a claim for this.. your insurance should cover for lost of rent.

when i had a little fire, tenant was out for a week.. my insurance paid for the lost rent.

her renters insurance paid for her hotel.