Broken roof tile causing damage.

[Viking]

HERE'S THE SENARIO.

Tenant called saying the roof is leaking and the water is coming through the ceiling. Damaged the ceiling.
Duly went and up the ladder. Concrete tiles, clean but black from sooty mould. Couldn't see any signs of broken tile but climbed into the roof cavity and went looking.
Sure enough when I get into the low bit there is a tile with a crack. Hard to pick but it was cracked. Filled it inside and then up the roof to fill the outside with the tile grout roofers use.(good stuff)

No sign of what caused to tile to break but my guess is that someone (you know the fellow, Mr Nobody), booted a ball up and it landed on the roof and cracked the tile. Just a guess.

Tenants of course will deny everything.

Wonder what others think I can do here?
Tiles don't break for no reason.

[speights boy]

Are they Monier , as shown on Fair Go ?

[Grundy]

First up..how old are they and as Speights mentioned...what brand?

"Wonder what others think I can do here?"
My reckoning is ...nothing.

Tiles don't break for no reason.
Not true. My existing place been in for more years than I can count has real old thin rubbish concrete tiles and I get a few fractures every few years. The seagulls aren't that heavy and nothing else gets near them. An old well travelled chap (older than me) says he had seen it before and one cause he reckoned was frost. Water getting into a porous area or crack and icing up. Might be true as the old concrete largely relied on thick paint to stop the water getting through.

[NESW]

Yes tiles break for ''no reason''. Go buy some spares and replace it.

[Wayne]

Not all repairs are the fault of the tenant.
Not all repairs that are potentially the fault of the tenant (ball on the roof) should be claimed from the tenant.
I suppose you could ban balls.

[Viking]

As the tiles have been there since 1963 they have behaved as they should. Any that get broken are broken by some event, such as walking on the roof etc.
Can't buy spares these days. Have to look after them. Plenty of houses with them.

Rule no.1.
All repairs are created by the tenant until it can be proven otherwise. Fair wear and tear excepted.

Rule no 2. Refer to rule no.1.

Rule no.3. If in doubt refer to rule no.1.

Rule no 4. If you can't find a repair after they leave then you haven't had a very good look. Go and have another look, even in places you don't expect.

Apart from fair wear and tear your house should be in the same condition it was in when they signed the tenancy plus any work that you have done or allowed to be done.
Anything less is a degradation of your asset.

The tide has turned Renters are going to find it harder and harder so don't put up with any more crap like we have had to endure for the last20 years.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/64513004/elderly-move-on-to-rental-property-ladder

[NESW]

How many years have you worked in the roofing industry might I ask?

[Cool]

Old ones are going crack sometimes. You can get replacements from demolition.

NESW is right. It has nothing to do with a ball on the roof, it is most likely from age and erosion. The way old style concrete tiles actually work is they are supposed to hold water -it's like the outside layer of a tent. If you seal them they have a shorter life, so if you've been near Kowhai, decragard etc that might be your problem, but your roof is pretty old. Source: I've just had an in-depth conversation on this issue with an experienced roofer.

Blaming tenants for ridiculous stuff like that is just going to get you a lower class of tenant.

[JABlog]

I have a couple of questions:

If the TA specifically mentions no decorations or hooks and nails in the wall , Do I have a claim against this with the tenant?
Also the drain pipe was blocked by a ball and since it has a closed guttering style the rain water overflowed into the Eves. Will the insurance cover this?

[FJW]

Get an independent contractor out to the property and give his professional opinion on how he believes the tiles cracked. If it swings in your favor then present it to the tenant.

Hope that helps

Fraser

HERE'S THE SENARIO.

Tenant called saying the roof is leaking and the water is coming through the ceiling. Damaged the ceiling.
Duly went and up the ladder. Concrete tiles, clean but black from sooty mould. Couldn't see any signs of broken tile but climbed into the roof cavity and went looking.
Sure enough when I get into the low bit there is a tile with a crack. Hard to pick but it was cracked. Filled it inside and then up the roof to fill the outside with the tile grout roofers use.(good stuff)

No sign of what caused to tile to break but my guess is that someone (you know the fellow, Mr Nobody), booted a ball up and it landed on the roof and cracked the tile. Just a guess.

Tenants of course will deny everything.

Wonder what others think I can do here?
Tiles don't break for no reason.

[jimO]

jeez man just suck it up and fix the tile