Folks,

Our landlord is renovating the building exterior and one day with the hammering outside, we discovered a crack on the internal wall (our one) and a screw from the wall came unhinged.

I emailed the landlord immediately with pics to let him know but he hasn't responded. A week later, I followed up and again he is simply not responding. I'm not worried per se as we didn't do this, but I'm wondering now (esp as he is ignoring our emails) if we have any liability risk here.

Anyone know anything about this? We're in BC.

Thanks

Doesn't sound like you will be held liable. If he did try to pursue it you would have a fairly strong case that the renovations caused the crack. You could ask the builders to come and inspect it and give their opinion if you are totally paranoid.

If the landlord is ignoring your notice, put it in writing (on paper) and send it registered mail. Keep a copy of the delivery receipt. Also contact the Residential Tenancy Board. Keep your photo's notes of the event and copies of the e-mails sent together with a print out of the e-mail header.

Nobody can say if they will, or won't try and hold you responsible, there is no telling what they will try to do. If what you say is correct it is most likely the responsibility of the builder, however you should not be dealing direct with the builder, this can only get more complicated. The building owner should be contacting the builder, examining the damage and seeking redress. They are the ones who hired the builder and the only ones with a contractual agreement with the builder.

Thanks, both.

Aviator, do you think I should still register mail a letter? The email address I sent to is their official tenancy one, plus they are three streets away. I don't want to unnecessarily antagonise the relationship.

I would have thought nothing of this but the fact that he is ignoring my emails - sent out of goodwill and informing he should talk to the builders as our side was the first renovation area - suddenly caused me to wonder if something is up.

That would be a very dodgy move and unscrupulous, I certainly hope it isn't the case.

The purpose of sending registered mail is that it is traceable and shows you are serious. If they accept the letter you have acknowledgment of that, of they refuse, you have evidence of that. If the matter ever went into dispute and they tried to blame you, you have evidence to support your claim that you had nothing to do with it.

If you feel it is more friendly to hand deliver it, take someone, unrelated to you, along to witness you hand the letter to them personally. Getting your witness to read it before you go is even better, so they can attest to what was in the envelope. Don't just leave it in the mail box, hand it over personally.

Sending e-mail is OK so long as you know they are receiving it and have acknowledgement from them that they received it. Easy to say you sent an e-mail, equally easy to say one never received it, same as a regular letter. Registered letter, or handing over a letter is looking out for them and you.

Not letting them know (and ensuring they do know) could put you into a difficult position if questioned why you did nothing (or appeared to do nothing). Letting them know and making sure they know is doing them a good turn, otherwise damage has occured to their building and they had no opportunity to seek redress from the person who caused the damage.

When you send the letter, send copies of the pictures, this should help let them know what damage has been done. You could word it along the lines of thought they should know what had happened.

Have you tried phoning the landlord? Perhaps he doesn't regard it as a big issue or has other properties that he is dealing with and so has not yet responded?

Yes, I would have planned to, but the fact that he usually responds but didn't to this particular theme leads me to suspect there might be an issue. If he was someone who would try to blame these cracks on me, when I notified him immediately and he well knows that the construction is happening, leads me to wonder if I could now trust him verbally. Odd but true.

Today the construction folk created a small hole in the floor. I told my OH that he should tell the builder immediately. It's also very unfair that we as tenants have to take on this stress. I am not happy about this.

Thanks again Aviator and Shard for the advice.

Call the RTB, they will advise. You can file a complaint as well if you feel it is necessary.

Yes that seems a good idea.

The registered letter idea probably is a good one.

Yes you have an email trail, but what's to stop them saying "I never received it", "It must have gotten caught in the SPAM filter", etc.

The witness is a good backup plan, but again, just one person's word against someone else's.

The receipt shows yes, the letter was delivered, and yes, someone signed for it. You'll also have the name of the person that signed for it. It gives indisputable evidence that the letter was sent and received.

Cheers, guys. I wouldn't even think of doing this to someone else but I guess everyone has different scruples. Will call and send letter.