Bathroom Flooded by Guest and water came out and ran into the two apartment below (costly water damage by guest refusing to pay)

[Nathan2012]

Hi all,

First time posting here. I have a wet room bathroom, the guests took a shower and they notice the water was not running down the plug and instead of (removing there hairs from it) continued to shower.

The water built up so much in the bathroom it came out into the corridor. They still carried on, so much water came out that the water went through the floor boards and ran down into two below apartments. It has caused minor damage in one apartment and medium damage in another.

Not so much damage in my apartment because you could mop the floor up. We have worksman going in today and tomorrow to access the damage and cost.

Im worried on a number of fronts. 

They have three weeks left of their stay and they have said verbally already that they wont take pay.
Im worried that when i send the bill, which could be anywhere from 1500 to 5000 euros, that they will say No and may take vengeance on the property while they are still in there

Our property insurance does not cover for accidental water damage - what are my chances host insurance pays out?
When should I inform Airbnb or beginning the resolution center, it happen 3 days ago now 

Any help or advice is appreciated

[Linda108]

Whatever process you opt for to recoup for damages caused by a guest, be prepared for it to take many months.  The Host Guarantee is iffy at best and requires a great amount of proof.  In your case, unless you have the guest admitting in a message to you that he caused the damage, it would be difficult to prove that to a third party such as Air BNB.  Perhaps it is not wise to continue to host this guest, especially since you believe that this guest is not taking responsibility.  What's next...a kitchen fire?  Cancel the rest of the stay by contacting Air BNB and notifying the guest as well.  I see that your listing is not visible.  Perhaps you have taken it off the platform at this time.  I see that you are new and you have a single positive review, so there may be quite a learning curve for you.

You live in an apartment or do you own the condo?  If you are also a renter, the owner's insurance should cover damages.  Of course as a renter you have to be sure the owner agreed to your renting the space out for short term rental.  If you are an owner of a condo, perhaps the HOA has some way of covering the damages with the HOA insurance.  Good luck.

[Helen3]

I would follow Airbnb’s process for making A claim under their  guarantee. @Nathan2012 . if your guests are the only ones in occupation and you have kept conversations about this on the platform you can use this Information to make a claim on their platform.  See airbnb help for details of hoe to do this.

If your home insurance for STRs doesn’t cover water damage I would get another policy. 

As the guests refuse to take responsibility ask Airbnb to cancel their booking. 

[Ann72]

@Nathan2012  If you want the guests to leave you could also shorten their booking.

The shower drainage sounds like it was somewhat sketchy to begin with and you should really take a look at it to prevent something like this from happening so easily again.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Nathan2012 I think the guest would have a good case that it was a faulty drain and not their fault. Its highly unlikely any blockage was purely down to them and not previous guests.

We find drains becoming blocked are actually quite difficult to spot as guests don't seem to report slow draining water. As a result we regularly unblock the shower drain to stop it becoming an issue.

[Nathan2012]

Could we move away from a faulty drain.  I understand that drains can be blocked, but we are talking of at least 1 hour of running water here.

The plugs are completely cleaned and unblocked before guests arrive.

It maybe important to add, they have already been in the apartment for 6 weeks of a 9 week stay,. This was not their first night in the apartment, it would of been day 50.

Am I now responsible for cleaning out plug outlets of hair etc while a guest in the house.

We are talking here that shower has to fill up and then overflow, then the bathroom floor has to fill up and then overflow into the corridor. This would of taken around 40 minuets and water flowing into the corridor for another 20 mins.

Slightly annoyed because we are not talking about a little bit of water, it would of had to go on for so long that a reasonable person would of noticed 30 mins before.

[Ann72]

@Nathan2012   It does sound bad and the guests sound careless in the extreme.

This is exactly why I insist on weekly housekeeping for stays of more than 10 days - it's the only way I can get in front of situations like this.  I do not trust the guests to keep things the way they should be kept or even to have enough experience with home ownership to anticipate problems like this.

It's unfortunate that Airbnb hasn't found a way to build a weekly housekeeping fee into bookings.  Many hosts have asked for it.  Without it, you have to get the guest to agree ahead of time and request it through the resolution center, or have them make a series of weekly bookings that would include it.  It's awkward no matter how it's handled.

[Emiel1]

@Nathan2012

The damage caused is not in your appartment, but in other appartment(s). IMO the https://www.airbnb.com/d/host-protection-insurance is involved and not the "Host  Guarantee"

Some other options to explore:
Maybe the people having the damage (if they own the appartment) can claim it first on their insurrance (but then the insurrance company will contact you at some point...).

Maybe the guests can claim the damage caused on their personal liabililty insurance

I fear Airbnb will not be in front of the row to compensate you, as it is rather difficult to sent proof of the damage and also to proof it is caused by the guests (unless they admit it and can be charged)

But as a start be sure to follow correct procedures for claiming the damage !

Best regards,
Emiel

[Nathan2012]

The rules of claiming damage are within 72 hours of them checking out. They no not check out for another 10 days.

But I have no idea of the cost right now, so nothing to claim on, and the damage has to be access. So I am unsure when I have to make the claim, plus they are still in the apartment which worries me if I begin to make a claim before they leave.

[Emiel1]

@Nathan2012 

"the guests took a shower and they notice the water was not running down the plug and instead of (removing there hairs from it) continued to shower."

Is that what the guests (or somebody else in the appartment) told you, or is your assumption ?

Please do understand the difference in claims on "Host Guarantee" (by resolution centre) or "Host protection" (by a form in here: https://www.airbnb.com/d/host-protection-insurance)

As the damage is not in your property, but in that of neighbours:

"Host Protection" pages mention covering:

"Your legal responsibility for damage to common areas, like building entrance halls and neighbouring properties, caused by guests or others"

BTW I noticed your listing is not active at the moment.

Hope this helps,

Emiel

[Lisa723]

@Nathan2012 here is the process for filing a claim with Airbnb:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/767/what-is-the-resolution-center

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/361/how-do-i-request-reimbursement-under-the-host-guarantee

You must submit the claim within 14 days of check-out, or before the next guest checks in, whichever is sooner.

FWIW, the only disputed claim I have filed was for about $1000 USD (for hot tub damage).  I provided photos and a professional repair estimate. Airbnb paid it within 24 hours. Things may be different now.

In your shoes I would evict these guests immediately.

[Sarah977]

@Nathan2012  I agree with those who've said to get these guests out ASAP. They are clueless. What kind of people don't notice the water building up in the shower stall and overflowing all over the floor and out the door?

You asked if you should have to clean the drain in the middle of a stay. Yes, a 9 week stay requires the host to check in every couple of weeks, however you arrange that (quick general clean, change of sheets and towels, whatever seems reasonable), so you can make sure all is okay. Because, as you have unfortunately found out, some people are just totally clueless and don't use the brains they were born with.

Good luck with getting compensation for this somehow.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Nathan2012 

The absolute first thing I'd do is use the water damage as an excuse to evict those guests and make them leave IMMEDIATELY! Then you can start focusing on finding a way to get compensated for the damage they caused - I doubt Airbnb will pay since the damage is to other homes, not the listing itself.

Make sure all conversations with them are thru the Airbnb messenger, for any face-to-face conversations of phone calls, always recap/summarize on the messenger for proof. 

As others have mentioned, for long-term stays (even if it is a private home) you should have a way to check up and make sure carelessness or neglect by the guest does not lead to serious damage to your home.