Property rental moral dilemma ... Who should pay?

[T.O.M.]

I have a tenant since 2 years back, who went to his home country for a holiday for 7 weeks....left about 5 weeks ago.
During his absence I water the garden, keep his vehicle-batteries alive and pay his bills.
Last week going there, I heard the water pump working non-stop....the pump is on the backside of the house, where I normally don't go during my visits....Found a leak in the PVC-pipe outside the house....one hour later it wax fixed..!!
During my visit today I got the water-bill....which since nobody is staying in the house should have been very low...BUT it was 1.100 baht.....So it has clearly been leaking for some time.
Which in turn means that the electric bill...due next week....will be way higher than it should be for an empty house.
Legally I probably have no obligations....but what about morally?
Had I not gone to the house during the tenants absence, it would have leaked for another 3 weeks before his return on the other hand I feel that the broken PVC-pipe is my responsibility, even if the tenant would have noticed it much earlier, had he stayed in the house (he would have heard the water pump)....
So my question is....Who should pay the excessive water-bill and the probably equally excessive electric-bill?
I had a 50/50 split in mind......Does that sound fair to you?
(Haven't been in touch with the tenant)

[Nereus]

Legally I probably have no obligations....

Not sure how far you would get with that? You rent something out for a price, so it should be in reliable working order.

But for me it would depend on how much you value a good tenant. Pay the water bill and discuss the power bill once you have it. I had a similar incident with my rented out house. I paid for the water, but not the power. Is there a swimming pool?

Unfortunately in my case the leak was inside the house, which led to 100k Baht insurance claim! Luckily the tenant was just out shopping and not absent. Prior to the house being rented out I always unplugged the water pump when the house was empty. But it does have 2 pumps, one for the garden, and one for the house.

[dundrillin]

If that is the only problem you have had in 2 years just pay for both but explain what has happened. Going by some tenants I and others have had you are doing ok!

[Dannie Boy]

As you had suggested yourself, maintenance of the property infrastructure is usually down to the owner unless otherwise agreed, so as galling as it is, the suggestions that you pick up the bill(s) is probably the solution that I’d agree with, albeit that I too would mention it to the tenant when he/they return - also consider requesting the pump to be unplugged in future?

[Highflyer]

Your house, your problem, get on with it , take the rental money , pay the price .

[T.O.M.]

Your house, your problem, get on with it , take the rental money , pay the price .

Normally if you rent out a house, the tenant is living there and can report any faults to the landlord, who of course has to fix it...no doubt about that. In this particular case the tenant is away for 7 weeks, so the fault was not detected immediately...more by coincidence when I visited the house.
Just for the sake of it...let's say the tenant left just after the meter was read and returned just before the next bill was due.....4 weeks where the landlord didn't visit the premises.....the tenant discovers the leak and reports to the landlord, ...problem fixed within a couple of hours. Landlord didn't know the tenant had been away. In that scenario...who pays?
Not trying to avoid my responsibility....just interested in the legal side of it....Not that we will end up in court or anything silly like that....I will probably swallow and pay the 2 much higher than usual bills...even if my feeling is, that it is not 100% my fault. But all to keep a happy tenant....
And it is not the 1.100 baht water-bill the scares me....but if the water-bill is anything to go by, I might end up with an electric bill at 20.000+ baht......

[dundrillin]

Presumably when you knew the tenant was going away on holiday you or someone else would visit the house to check everything is in order. You really are going to have to bite the bullet on this and get over it.

[T.O.M.]

Presumably when you knew the tenant was going away on holiday you or someone else would visit the house to check everything is in order. You really are going to have to bite the bullet on this and get over it.

Mentally I have already bitten the bullet....Accepted the fact, that I have to pay the 2 huge bills caused by the leak.
On the bright side...I have been renting out houses for many years....never had a situation like this before.
Lesson learned: If my tenants in the future are going away for longer periods of time, the main electric switch will be turned OFF until their return...

[dtaai-maai]

Is it normal for the landlord to pay utility bills while the tenant is away? (Without reimbursement, I mean). I can't imagine any of the landlords I had doing such a thing!

[JW]

I think your doing the right thing, its easy to be nasty but much better to be nice. If the tenant is away then they should have a friend check the house over, its not really the owners job to do that. Sure your tenant wold give you a good review as an owner.