Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Virginia

My Wife and I rent a home and live there with our 14 month old son. We had a house fire and the house can not be lived in now. The fire department determined that the fire started as a result of the dryer. My landlord does not have insurance on the property. We have renters insurance. My landlord is now hinting around that I started the fire. He said "his guy" told him that wet clothes don't burn and that there was no fire in the drier. A fireman commented to me that when they pulled the drier out, the clothes inside it were burning. And you can look in it and see that it had been burning. My landlord is also in a rush to get everything cleaned up. The fire happened in the evening and he was there early the next morning with a worker starting to gut and clean. I told him that nothing could be thrown out till the adjuster gets there, but I think he is going to do as he pleases. I'm not sure if he is going to try and blame me in the hopes that he gets me to pay or what, but I'm not happy with the situation and not sure what to do. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Asked on 8/07/10, 6:07 am

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

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Start documenting(if you haven't already) the fair market value of the

personal property that you lossed in the fire and that was covered by

your renter's insurance and submit your claim.

Then see if there's a report that you can obtain from the fire department

regarding the cause of this fire. And, in the event that you're sued for anything,

be prepared to hire an attorney to represent you.

Answered on 8/12/10, 8:13 am

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