HI All
Situation is with a rental property in NSW, where the internal unit of a 'split system' air conditioner has malfunctioned. It has put water out the front of the unit (blocked water drain?) and this water has leaked onto a TV. The TV now no longer works. A technician was called and the pipe is not blocked and is working as normal.
Is the Landlord responsible for the damage to the TV? or is it up to the Tenant to fix/replace?
Isn't this what contents insurance is for?
Contents insurance would claim it from the owner
Tenant to fix/replace. That is what renters insurance is for. Unless they can prove it was negligence on your part that caused the damage.
This.
Tenants need to take responsibility and stand on their own two feet instead of continually complaining and trying to pass blame onto anyone but themselves.
I expect this post to be quickly down-voted by a hoard of complaining renters.
I suspect that the the pipe may have been blocked, but is now clear. Either the build up was 'pushed' out by the backlog of water and is now gone (empties directly into a drain) or there was something placed in the drain to make it stop (kids toy, hose to redirect the water to a garden bed). But in it's current state, it is working as expected. The water definitely came from the unit inside, as there was still water in the plastic casing.
this is will be a case of "how to prove" something that is no longer there
join the tenants union for this and future problems; useful to fight with big guns behind you rather than alone or with ad hoc advice.
It sounds like the A/C unit blocked up & caused water to damage a TV situated underneath. It's not like the tenants are claiming the A/C leaked onto a laptop (laptop leaks usually associated with drink spills). The TV is located under the A/C & gets damaged with leaking water sounds realistic. The other fact that the blockage freed itself also sounds plausible.
Contents insurance is generally purchased for things out of the control of expected maintenance of the unit itself. Lightning strikes, storms toppling trees, a device of their own malfunctioning etc…To me, it looks like the owner has not had the A/C unit properly maintained thus leading to a blockage.
I'd say, out of good faith, the owner should pay for the TV assuming he/she has witnessed or seen photos to confirm the water damage.
Imho
Who puts a tv under an air conditioner. Its the tenants stupid fault
I've rented lots of places & have never had water leaking from an A/C split unit inside my house. There's no reasonable expectation that this would occur. The A/C ought to have been serviced if it's included as a working appliance in the house.
One place I rented had the A/C on the feature wall with the antenna ports. I would think that meant to have our TV there, & of course we did.
The owner ought to make it right.
Imho
Ask for photos of the incident.
Is the TV an old model by any chance? Do they now want a brand new mega big TV as compensation?