Relationship With Landlord in Toilet

L.A. Times Archives

Sept. 20, 1998 12 AM PT

From Project Sentinel

QUESTION: About a month ago, I found that my 5-year-old son had been flushing his model cars, Lego blocks and hand puppets down the toilet.

The first time the drain backed up, about six months ago, I was unaware of my son’s activities, and I called the landlord to have the plumbing fixed.

The plumber thought that some roots might have grown into the sewer system and got everything working. The toilet drain backed up again last month, and this time, the plumber said it was cloth, which bore a strong resemblance to my son’s hand puppet.

When I explained to my son that this was a bad thing for him to do, he told me that he began flushing down toys only recently, not six months ago, and I believe him.

However, my landlord expects me to pay not only for this most recent visit by the plumber but for the previous repairs six months ago as well. I will pay the current bill, but do I have to pay the first bill also?

ANSWER: From your story, it appears that you may be responsible for both plumbing bills. Although the ultimate outcome depends both on your legal obligations and your negotiating skills.

In general, plumbing repairs (as well as other repairs to the utility services and the structure of a rented property) are the responsibility of the landlord, unless the damage is caused by the tenant or his guests, either through a specific action or through negligence.

It is unclear why the plumber’s services were needed six months ago. If the problem was caused by growing roots, as the plumber concluded, the landlord is responsible to pay the bill; if it was your son, you should pay.

Since the reason why the plumber was needed the first time may be in doubt, you should discuss the matter with your landlord. Tell him that you are willing to assume any costs caused by your family but that you believe that your son’s inappropriate behavior began only recently.

If you can convince your landlord that this is the situation, he should agree to limit your plumbing bill to the most recent incident.

If your landlord continues to believe that your son caused both problems, you might try to get some help from your local tenant-landlord program, which may be able to provide a mediator to assist you and your landlord in arriving at a mutually acceptable resolution of the problem.

In any case, keep an open mind during your negotiations and remember that good communications between tenants and landlords are essential.

This column is prepared by Project Sentinel, a rental housing mediation service in Sunnyvale, Calif. Questions may be sent to 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Road, Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, but cannot be answered individually.

For housing discrimination questions, complaints or help, call the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment at (800) 233-3212 or the Fair Housing Council, Fair Housing Institute or Fair Housing Foundation office in your area:

Bellflower: (888) 777-4087.

Carson: (888) 777-4087.

El Monte: (626) 579-6868.

Hawthorne: (888) 777-4087.

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Long Beach: (562) 901-0808.

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San Fernando Valley: (818) 373-1185.

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Orange County: (714) 569-0828.