Ceiling collapsed on me

daddyorchips

So there I was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and boom down comes half the ceiling, thankfully I am alone(baby is in nans) and I wasn't really hurt was kinda funny in a laurel and hardy way but none the less dangerous for me and my family. What should i do now i am a tenant if that helps i know im going to get told to leave but is there any other suggestions ?

Paulw

Phone the landlord ASAP. It's his problem to deal with.

Victor

A few things:

Why did it collapse?

Tell the landlord. Suggest it needs to be fixed in the next 10 days or so.

Take photos of damage to ceiling, the property and your possessions.

TheBody

Victor wrote: »

A few things:

Why did it collapse?

Tell the landlord. Suggest it needs to be fixed in the next 10 days or so.

Take photos of damage to ceiling, the property and your possessions.

+100

daddyorchips

To reply to you all,I have phoned the LL and told him he will be over after work, I took pictures, and I dont know why it fell without being disrepectful I am not a person with alot of knowledge of building or why building materials fail I just wanted to ask people should i move our as its unsafe or am i over reacting ?

runawaybishop

daddyorchips wrote: »

To reply to you all,I have phoned the LL and told him he will be over after work, I took pictures, and I dont know why it fell without being disrepectful I am not a person with alot of knowledge of building or why building materials fail I just wanted to ask people should i move our as its unsafe or am i over reacting ?

The landlords insurance should cover the cost of alternative accommodation for you, assuming the house is uninhabitable.

daddyorchips

runawaybishop wrote: »

The landlords insurance should cover the cost of alternative accommodation for you, assuming the house is uninhabitable.

this is where it gets complicated,i happen to know for a fact the LL pays tax so im assuming his insurance company would not cover it if someone else was living there i know it seems like im being awkward but i just have no clue

Victor

daddyorchips wrote: »

To reply to you all,I have phoned the LL and told him he will be over after work, I took pictures, and I dont know why it fell without being disrepectful I am not a person with alot of knowledge of building or why building materials fail I just wanted to ask people should i move our as its unsafe or am i over reacting ?

Oh, the question was more "has there been construction work nearby?" , "has there been a water leak?" or "have they been having mad parties upstairs?".

If you feel unsafe, leave the building until it has been examined.

If there are anything but the smallest of (new) cracks in the walls or floors, have the building inspected professionally.

Feel free to at least talk to the Dangerous Buildings office in your local city or county council. Dublin City details here: http://www.dublincity.ie/housing/cityarchitectsdivision/pages/dangerousbuildings.aspx

joeguevara

If the LL does have insurance, it would be for the structure and his contents. The tenant is more than likely responsible for theirs. If alternative accommodation is required, the LL wouldn't be responsible for paying for this but would be responsible for reducing the rent pro-rata for the length of time that the tenant is out of the house. If this is going to be a big job and tenant is out of the property for an unreasonable length of time, the lease would probably be terminated and deposit returned.

Hopefully, it was a one off thing with no major structural damage to the house and it will be fixed quickly.

Victor

joeguevara wrote: »

If alternative accommodation is required, the LL wouldn't be responsible for paying for this but would be responsible for reducing the rent pro-rata for the length of time that the tenant is out of the house.

I disagree. The tenant should have to pay for no more than the normal rent and the landlord (and their insurer) should pay any additional cost.

runawaybishop

Victor wrote: »

I disagree. The tenant should have to pay for no more than the normal rent and the landlord (and their insurer) should pay any additional cost.

Doesn't the landlord only have to cover reasonable amounts though? I'm not an expert on this though by any means.

convert

A friend of mine had to move out of their apartment due to a leak in their bedroom, which the management company had supposedly fixed! The landlord paid for a hotel for the 3 nights it took to repair the leak properly. If you're a good tenant and the landlord is decent/professional, then it's reasonable they should put you up in reasonable accommodation (not the Four Seasons!) if it's unsafe/unreasonable for you to stay in the premises while the problem is being repaired.

joeguevara

Victor wrote: »

I disagree. The tenant should have to pay for no more than the normal rent and the landlord (and their insurer) should pay any additional cost.

Just going by personal experience, this does not happen. The Landlord does not pay for emergency accommodation and after looking at my apartment insurance (of which I am a landlord) the insurer wouldn't either.

joeguevara

convert wrote: »

A friend of mine had to move out of their apartment due to a leak in their bedroom, which the management company had supposedly fixed! The landlord paid for a hotel for the 3 nights it took to repair the leak properly. If you're a good tenant and the landlord is decent/professional, then it's reasonable they should put you up in reasonable accommodation (not the Four Seasons!) if it's unsafe/unreasonable for you to stay in the premises while the problem is being repaired.

I think this would be a sensible approach and would be something I would do, if it was for a short period of time.

beauf

runawaybishop wrote: »

The landlords insurance should cover the cost of alternative accommodation for you, assuming the house is uninhabitable.

Why? I doubt the insurance covers that. It would have to be out of the LL pocket I'd expect. I don't know if legally they would have to cover it. I would expect a LL might make a contribution/cover it though. Unless its structural it wouldn't take long to put up a ceiling. If its structural all bets are off.

I'd be concerned to find out why it came down.

runawaybishop

beauf wrote: »

Why?.

Because it could be a clause in their policy.

daddyorchips

I think we might just move out because I couldn't possibly let my little girl stay in an unsafe envioroment I do believe this is fair enough because its not only the ceiling its just the landlords attitude he is only coming later to collect the rent and that's it said he cant deal with the ceiling till later in the week which is really unfair well I believe it is

beauf

runawaybishop wrote: »

Because it could be a clause in their policy.

Have you ever seen such a cause?

runawaybishop

beauf wrote: »

Have you ever seen such a cause?

Google says: Yes.

Viper_JB

Just out of curiosity here if a tenant is injured/(or even killed but I know that's an extreme) due to a problem with the house caused by lack of maintenance by the landlord in the house....would the landlord not be responsible for all injuries received or is there like a special bit of legislation for it? Because in my head if I were in the landlords position in this case I'm sure I'd have the word litigation ringing in my head for a long time after this...

beauf

daddyorchips wrote: »

I think we might just move out because I couldn't possibly let my little girl stay in an unsafe envioroment I do believe this is fair enough because its not only the ceiling its just the landlords attitude he is only coming later to collect the rent and that's it said he cant deal with the ceiling till later in the week which is really unfair well I believe it is

Is this the same place?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84406778&postcount=1

beauf

runawaybishop wrote: »

Google says: Yes.

Can you link to it.

runawaybishop

beauf wrote: »

Can you link to it.

This is the first result i found - http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6779

john kinsella

beauf wrote: »

Can you link to it.

The vast majority of rental policies will cover the costs of alternative accommodation or loss of rent.

It is up to the landlord what to decide to do. He could not charge the tenant rent for the duration of repairs and then claim loss of rent from insurers or he could take the alternative accommodation and arrange to move the tenant (while the tenant keeps paying rent)

This is obviously only if there has been an insured peril i.e. a leak etc. If there is accidental damage cover on the policy (not always the case with rental properties) then it would be covered under this also. (sudden and unforeseen event)

djimi

daddyorchips wrote: »

he cant deal with the ceiling till later in the week which is really unfair well I believe it is

Did he actually say that?

So he is prepared to leave you with a collapsed ceiling for a number of days? Good lord...

daddyorchips

beauf wrote: »

Is this the same place?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84406778&postcount=1

it isn't I've moved since then I think we might just have bad luck with houses

daddyorchips

djimi wrote: »

Did he actually say that?

So he is prepared to leave you with a collapsed ceiling for a number of days? Good lord...

yes he is i have written it all down and that im not going to give him this months rent il use that along with the deposit he will give back to find a new house again I've moved three times this year

beauf

john kinsella wrote: »

The vast majority of rental policies will cover the costs of alternative accommodation or loss of rent.

It is up to the landlord what to decide to do. He could not charge the tenant rent for the duration of repairs and then claim loss of rent from insurers or he could take the alternative accommodation and arrange to move the tenant (while the tenant keeps paying rent)

This is obviously only if there has been an insured peril i.e. a leak etc. If there is accidental damage cover on the policy (not always the case with rental properties) then it would be covered under this also. (sudden and unforeseen event)

I have seen "loss of rent" covered but not alternative accommodation in the companies I searched. (quoting another forum means nothing). I don't see how it work tbh. Th only way it could work is if the tenant pays their own accommodation and not their rent (only with agreement of the LL) then the LL could claim lost of rent. Or the LL pays out of their own pocket and the tenant pays rent as usual.

As an aside as a tenant I would be taking lots of photos, in case theres any dispute here about what happened and what caused it.

hfallada

To repair a ceiling it only takes 2 days. My parents did it last week. You rip all the old plaster down and that takes no more than 90 mins. Put up new plasterboard and skim it. Wait 24 hours for it to dry and 2 coats of paint and its done.

mikom

daddyorchips wrote: »

So there I was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and boom down comes half the ceiling, thankfully I am alone(baby is in nans) and I wasn't really hurt was kinda funny in a laurel and hardy way but none the less dangerous for me and my family. What should i do now i am a tenant if that helps i know im going to get told to leave but is there any other suggestions ?

I'd have a chat with the previous renter....... http://www.usborne.com/images/covers/eng/max_covers/2229.jpg

beauf

hfallada wrote: »

To repair a ceiling it only takes 2 days. My parents did it last week. You rip all the old plaster down and that takes no more than 90 mins. Put up new plasterboard and skim it. Wait 24 hours for it to dry and 2 coats of paint and its done.

True. But that assumes there's no other problem.
Ceilings generally just don't fall down without a reason.

athtrasna

daddyorchips wrote: »

il use that along with the deposit he will give back to find a new house again I've moved three times this year

God bless your optimism. If the landlord is the type to be in no rush to fix your ceiling and you've decided to just move out, I can predict problems with the deposit.