Tree on a house you rent? Your landlord may still be able to charge you full rent

SHELBY, N.C. — A Shelby couple’s rental home was damaged when a tree fell on it during Helene. The damage was so extensive that they couldn’t live there, but they still had to pay full rent while they waited to move back in.

“It put holes in the roof. The kitchen ceiling collapsed,” said Vickie Loveday.

Loveday told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that she and her husband weren’t able to stay in the home and that both FEMA and firefighters also suggested they leave.

“I don’t want to pay for something [if] I can’t stay here,” she said. “I just want to be treated fairly. We pay a lot of money to stay here.”

But she says the landlord still charged them the usual amount for rent.

“Where’s my rights as a tenant?” she asked.

Stoogenke says with any landlord/tenant issue, start by looking at the lease. After all, that’s your contract. Loveday’s lease didn’t say anything about Acts of God and who shoulders the loss during a natural disaster.

In that case, Legal Aid says your landlord can still charge full rent.

Still, see if he or she will cut you some slack. If not, keep paying unless a lawyer tells you not to. That said, you may still have some legal recourse later. So, keep proof you paid and any other receipts for the storm damage.

Plus, check to see if renters insurance will put you up in a hotel in the meantime. Loveday says she didn’t have that but was able to stay with family. She just wishes her landlord would give her a break on rent for the time she was there.

Loveday says she’s been back in her house for about a week now.

Action 9 called, texted, and emailed her landlord, but didn’t get a response in time for this report.

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