I live in an apartment complex in a somewhat shady area. We just moved at the end of October, and the garage door broke over a month ago. It's stuck in the open position, meaning anyone has access to the building, at all times of the day or night. Last week we had 2 cars robbed, they smashed the windows and took anything they could get. I got home this morning to find my bike stolen from the garage. I keep it secured with a bike lock through the front tire and in the frame, so you can't ride off with it.
I've read through my lease, and while it does not say they provide a secure garage and complex, it does say they are required to maintain a safe area.
My question is, when is the apartment complex management responsible for the thefts, being that they are negligently allowing the garage door to remain broken? They told me this morning it will be at least 6 weeks until they can do anything about it.
Let my play their side-
You placed, or continued to store, your property in the garage despite knowing that the door was not secure and that there had been thefts, likely resultant to that fact. While you took measures to prevent your bike from being ridden from the scene, you failed to take any precautions to prevent it from being carried away. Why did you fail to attempt to mitigate damages by arranging alternate storage for the bicycle until the door was repaired, or at least store it in a manner which would prevent or make more difficult removing the bicycle?
Are there any provisions in the lease documents, or in applicable codes in your area that would have prevented you from storing the bike somewhere within your apartment?
If you were encumbered from storing the bike in your apartment, were there any reasonable options proximal to you, which would have been less damaging than total loss of the property?
Was mgmnt made aware of the defect? When? Did they present any time frame for repair? [Were you informed '6 weeks' before or after the theft?)
Was there anywhere on site where you may have secured the bike so as to reduce the likliehood of removal?
My question is, when is the apartment complex management responsible for the thefts, being that they are negligently allowing the garage door to remain broken? They told me this morning it will be at least 6 weeks until they can do anything about it.
The answer to this question is something that is likely to be dependent on state and local laws in your area.
Here are a couple of links that I found on Washington landlord tenant law:
http://housing.asuw.org/resources/pdf/WashLandlordTenantAct.pdf
http://leaserunner.com/faq.php?id=730
I have no knowledge of Washington law. However, in general terms, there are doctrines that support the landlord's liability for a tenant's actual losses resultant to defects caused by negligent and wilful conduct by the landlord.
Well firstly, I'll be more specific with the time frame. At no point before the incident was there contact between the landlord and myself regarding the garage door. It is only after I informed them my bike had been stolen, that they told me there were also other incidents. It's then that they told me the garage door was 6 week out from being operational.
While there's nothing preventing me from storing the bike within my apartment, there's simply no space. 500sq ft 1 bedroom apartment. Additionally, no other storage is offered for larger items. The reason I could not secure the bike any further was because no bike racks are provided, and my assigned stall is against a concrete wall with nothing to anchor to. I suppose I could have stored my bike in the trunk of my car for the time being. Or disassembled and reassembled each time I wanted to ride it. However, I believe if I were to ask 10 strangers, they would say that those methods could not be expected.
Not that it changes anything, but just a side note. I suspect the 6 weeks out time frame they gave is because their quarter will end at the end of the year, and they are trying to cut costs. It's a management company hired to work for the owners.
Do you think I could say that my girlfriend whom I'm living with no longer feels safe, knowing that anyone has access to the building at any time, therefor they are not holding their end of the lease? Or the fact that they have a '6 week plan' would prevent that.
