In a rental situation, who is responsible for vandalism on the windows – the tenant or the owner/management?
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In a rental situation, who is responsible for vandalism on the windows – the tenant or the owner/management?
Asked on April 17, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Colorado
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Assuming the facts are as you state (i.e. this is an case of vandalism), then the landlord is required to make a repair of this nature. Unless the landlord can prove otherwise, they should pay to have this fixed without passing the cost on to you as you were clearly not at fault for this damage. Their insurance should cover the cost of this. However, if the landlord believes that the window broke as a result of fault on your part, they may try to deduct the cost to fix the window from your security deposit.
Note: If the broken glass is on the outside of the window it would be evidence that the break occurred from the inside of the unit; if the broken glass was on the inside then the break probably occurred from outside of the apartment.
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