Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

On Tuesday April 20, 2010 around 7 p.m., I opened the refrigerator door and noticed the light was off and the temperature was warm. At that same time I also noticed my stove�s digital clock was off.

I went to the circuit breaker box to reset the power, but that didn�t work. I ended up pulling the refrigerator and stove away from the wall and used extension cords and plugged them on the opposite wall. (Most of the food had to be thrown away due to spoilage)

I notified the landlord that power to the north wall of the kitchen was not working, and I had attempted to fix it myself by resetting the breaker to no avail.

Before the landlord came over, I tried to turn the TV on that was plugged into the east wall, however it did not work. The stereo on the north wall was plugged in but the display was lit so I knew it was working, although did not turn it on to test.

When the landlord finally came over, I showed him what electrical outlets were not working and he saw extension cords on the opposite wall were used to keep the refrigerator and stove on. He then told me that he would have his �Handyman� come and assess the problem on Wednesday April 21, 2010 at 1 p.m.

On Wednesday April 21, 2010, I received a text message at 2:39 p.m. from the landlord asking me to call him. I subsequently sent him a response that I was in a meeting and would call him back. I spoke to him before 4 p.m. and he told me, �your stove, TV, and stereo are toast�, referring that my appliances were damaged. He also mentioned that he was outside when the handyman was trouble shooting the electrical problem, and when he walked back into my apartment, he smelled something had burned. At that moment, he did not mention anything about replacing my damaged items.

When I arrived home around 5:30 p.m., I smelled a really strong burnt, plastic smell.

Around that time, the landlord told me that he was trying to get the situation corrected and called his electrician. The electrician came to my apartment around 6 p.m. He did some preliminary tests on the voltage, and I heard him say, �you are lucky you did not have a fire. The wiring in this building is original wiring from the 1940�s�. I asked the electrician if the wires were wrapped in cloth and he confirmed that.

I stuck around for 1.5 hours and left. Before I left I told landlord that I was gong to file a claim with my insurance carrier and he did not respond. He more or less told me that I would probably get replacement appliances, but I told him that he would ultimately be responsible for the damages to my items. He did not understand, and I said to him, �it�s like, when someone has a car accident, the responsible party will be held liable�.

I was able to return home before 10 p.m. on Wednesday April 21, 2010, and the landlord was still there and told me the problem was fixed. I must note, before I left, the electrician asked to see the other electrical outlets in the apartment, and I showed him, however, I did not see where he made any changes. (landlord called on another electrician to complete the entire wiring to the apartment)

I would like to have my stove, TV and stereo replaced as well as reimbursement for the food I had to throw out due to spoilage($50 dollars in approximately value).

I filed a claim with my insurance company and they denied my claim, but they only sent me a $50 check for food that spoiled. The adjuster told me they could not do anything further and told me to contact the landlords insurance company. The landlords insurnce company also denied my claim and basically told me it was my fault my appliance were damaged???

I contacted my landlord today and he told me today that I could deduct $75 from my rent for 4 months to cover damages?? I told him that I bought my stove new last year at $600, my stereo new this year at $150, and the tv was old but would need to be replaced. Who do I go after???? It is not my fault the wiring was bad and when the electrician came to work on the apartment caused a surge that ultimately caused my applainces to be damaged...Please help. Thanks, Norma Robbins

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in California

Looking for something else?