Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
Two sets of a washer and dryer are in the lease as items that come along with renting the house. The first time we used the dryer, we discovered it was broken. The property manager sent a repairman and said that it was not fixable. The homeowner refused to purchase a new one. We purchased a dryer and noticed that a lot of humidity and steam built up in the house when it was in use because the dryer did not vent outside the house. Consequently, mold and mildew grew heavily around every glass door and window. The property manager was notified and we were told by her that we should not have installed a new dryer and that it is our responsibility to clean the mold and mildew.
My questions are: Is there anything we can do about not getting the dryer replaced and having to purchase our own? Should the homeowner be responsible for reimbursement? Should the homeowner pay the fee for having the old dryer removed and recycled? Are we responsible to clean the mold and mildew?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You may or may not be entitled to reimbursement for the dryer. One measure of damages is that you are entitled to the difference between the rent you paid, and the rent the landlord could have gotten if he rented the property without the dryer. On the other hand, if the lease expressly inculdes a dryer and a dryer is not provided, you could arguably claim a repair and deduct remedy and deduct the dryer cost from the rent, but only if it it was a comparable dryer, not a significant upgrade. A court could go either way on those measures of damages. If you do go the repair and deduct route, however, bear in mind the dryer would then belong to the landlord.
As for the mold, that is on you. You chose to get a new dryer, you had it installed, and the installation was totally faulty if it was not vented to the outside. You are responsible for that result. As for removal and recycling, you could have just left it on the premises. By electing to have it removed and recycled, you bear that expense.
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