On 12 Jul 2006 07:41:31 -0700, wrote:

A buddy of mine was away for a week and returned to find that the water
heater in his rented condo had sprung a major leak. He said it was
running about like half of a wide open sink faucet rate. The friggin
thing was about 23 years old. I remember seeing the label on it, how
the area around the pipe connections looked corroded, etc. I warned
him about it and told him to make sure he shut off the water when he
was away on trips, but obviously, he didn't.

Good news is that the water was handled by the sump pump. Bad news is
a lot of water may have been billed. Not sure about the gas, as he
shut the thing off without finding out if the thing had been fired up.
The water coming out was cold, but at that flow rate, it could just be
that it couldn't heat it fast enough. He did say he didn't hear it
running. I'm hoping the water put the pilot out, but on the other
hand, from where it was leaking, it sounds like it was the anode rod
fitting area at the top of the tank that went.

Just wondering, does anyone have any experience in what happens with
the water or gas company in a case like this. Do they expect full
payment for the water/gas? Or if you can show it was an accident do
they negotiate or give you a break?

Also, what are views on the landlord's responsibility for paying for
the water/gas if the utility company does not? In the general case,
where it just happens to say a reasonably new water heater, it would
seem to me this is a grey area as to whether the landlord would be
responsible to pay for water. In the case of a 20+ year old water
heater, I think he has a much better case, as it's well known that
these things usually fail long before that, so it looks like a case for
negligence could be made.

The person "billed" for the account will be the one to pay. When I
had tenants, the lease specifically indicated they paid all utilities
and those accounts were in their names. Some things like garbage pick
up and association fees could not be placed in the tenant name, but it
was written in the lease that they pay them.

I always had an emergency fund for big items, like a broken AC, water
heater, etc. Tenants, by the lease were to notify me if any broke..

I think the landlord should fix the water heater as he has a vested
interest keeping property in good shape.

I had one leak and guess I lost about 500 gallons, just looking at the
bill that I paid. A neighbor lost somewhere close to 5,000 gallons
due to a main from the meter to the house that broke from a tree root.
The builder fixed the water line, I think he paid the water.

Oren