A water hose left to run for an indeterminate amount of time left one tenant on Reddit in a tricky situation with their landlord.
In a post to r/Renters, the tenant writes that they discovered the hose running in a garden shared with other tenants. They only realized how long the hose may have been left on after their landlord contacted them about an unusually high water bill of around $500.
The tenant, who lives in Canada, went on to explain that they never used the garden hose, nor would they have been able to — in the weeks leading up to the incident, the poster revealed that they were bedridden in a postoperative recovery.
Only the upstairs neighbor ever used the hose to water the garden, according to the Redditor, who recounted multiple past instances when they had to turn the hose off for their neighbor because they had accidentally left it on.
This led them to believe their neighbor had been the one to leave it on again, but when the landlord contacted the upstairs neighbor, they denied any wrongdoing and blamed it all on the poster's family, who had been helping them and visiting following surgery.
Not wanting to take sides in the fight, the landlord decided both tenants would split the $500 bill. Understandably, the Redditor did not want to pay up for a mistake they had no part in.
"I don't want to pay the bill since I didn't do anything wrong, and in fact, the bill would be much higher if it wasn't for me or my dad turning off the hose whenever she leaves it on," wrote the Redditor in their post. "What do I do?"
To help the original poster with their problem, Reddit users who responded to the post had a question of their own for the tenant: What does the lease say?
When it comes to disagreements with landlords, rereading the lease is the first thing tenants should always do. Depending on what the lease says, it is possible renters can avoid any liability for things such as an expensive water bill.
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For example, if the lease says utilities such as water are paid by the landlord or included in the tenant's rent, a tenant could not be forced to pay utilities, even in the case of a costly bill.
Rereading a lease is also a good way to ensure tenants have the freedom to adopt money-saving and eco-friendly lifestyle changes.
Seemingly benign ways of life, such as growing a vegetable garden, hanging clothes to air dry outside, and even charging electric vehicles, have been restricted or even banned by some landlords or homeowners associations, forcing affected tenants to cite their leases or local and state laws to ensure their rights and freedoms in rental properties.
A quick review of their lease is what likely saved the OP in the end.
After rereading it, they discovered that their landlord could not hold them (and likely their neighbor too, depending on their lease) responsible for paying the pricey water bill.
"The contract states that my landlord is responsible for gas/electricity/water/etc. (because it's part of the rent cost) and says nothing about the tenant paying overages fees," said the tenant to users asking about their lease.
"Then you have your answer," replied one person. "You don't owe him anything."
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