Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

The property is located in San Francisco county. During a recent heavy storm, the drainage in the backyard ( the property is slopped) clogged and caused the fist floor office to be partially flooded. As the landlord, my first instict was to immediately get Roto Rooter (I paid) to come and snake the drainage pipes. By the time the plumber came, the water had mainly receded and draining slowly. The plumber snaked all critical drainage pipes and could not find large debris. He concluded that it was probably due to dirt accumulation clogging the drainage and lack of periodic maintenance (cleaning debris from the filter). Although earlier in the year I had written a reminder to the tenants to periodically inspect and clean the drainage area, they did not. The tenants also had construction trash from earlier in the year that they did not dispose of. It is possible that some of the trash could have loosen up and gotten stuck in the drainage. Futhermore, the city experienced storm drainage clog due to the heavy rain so the congestion in the storm drain may have also contributed to this. There has never been a flood of this nature prior on this property so we percieve this as a force majuere.

Becuase there is carpet damage (wet = possible mold) to the office, who is responsible for the replacement cost? Although the tenants are suppose to carry insurance per the lease, they have never given me a copy of the insurance. We have already spent a lot of money on leasehold improvements and so for this to happen is quite upsetting. Thank you.


Asked on 11/22/10, 10:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Demand a copy of the insurance policy. Then tender to both your insurance and theirs.

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Answered on 11/28/10, 8:45 pm


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