Tenant refuses to pay $8k in medical bills after landlord's son jumped into common dryer

Dealing with landlords can often be ugly, particularly when they make you a scapegoat for crimes you didn’t commit. Something similar happened with a tenant (u/leatherseveral7614) who was forced to pay medical bills worth over $8,000 after the landlord's child tumbled into a running dryer. The outrageous post was shared on Reddit, where it generated a massive response.

The tenant had rented a basement suite, and as part of the agreement, he shared the laundry room with the landlord. Once a week, the landlord's family unlocked the door connected to the suite so the tenant could use the laundry machine. The room had stairs leading to the rest of the house, and that's how the landlord's family accessed the shared laundry machine. Usually, the tenant shut the door to his suite after putting clothes in the machine because of the noise. On one such laundry day, the tenant had put his clothes out to dry when all of a sudden, he heard the landlord's wife yelling. "I soon learn that apparently their 4-year-old opened up the dryer and climbed in. Their dryer was faulty. It doesn't shut off when you open the door. Yeah, so the kid was tumbling in there while the door was open, and all because the machine didn't shut itself off when the door was opened," the tenant explained. 

Luckily, the kid survived the incident, but the landlords insisted that the tenant pay $8477.34, covering their son's medical and ambulance bills. "Because it was my laundry that the kid climbed into," he said. The tenant didn't expect it, and so he reached out to a landlord-oriented forum, seeking a clear picture of the accident. "I was asked if the family ever raised rent. I have been living there for one year and 4 months, so no, I admit they did not raise rent when the lease was renewed after the first year, but still, they didn't do it for charity. I pay my rent on time every time and don't cause a problem," the tenant wrote. While some in the forum supported him, others said he must pay up for the sake of "morality." In fact, some told the tenant that they should be grateful that the landlord had not raised the rent for over a year. 

Landlord fiascos aren't rare. Almost every day, you hear stories about how tenants are fed up with their landlords finding excuses to humiliate them. According to a survey assessing 61,000 tenants, nearly 17.5% of tenants admitted to being 'dissatisfied' with their landlord, and 13.6% said they were "very dissatisfied." Moreover, the report citing the Housing Partners’ 2014 Big Tenant Survey revealed that over 44% of tenants were dissatisfied with how their landlord listened to them and acted upon their views. Meanwhile, reacting to the post, u/litebritekid commented, "NTA. Both your points are completely valid. They are responsible for watching their 4-year-old and fixing any faulty appliances. It’s not like they asked you not to use it until it was fixed. You could also probably get a free 30-minute consult with a lawyer to make sure they don’t file a case against you. But I'd start looking for somewhere else to live in case they get petty about it all."

Similarly, u/drunkgoibniu said, "NTA; I cannot think of any way you should be responsible for the actions/repercussions of their child's wandering free of supervision. You may wish to consult a lawyer at least so you can get a better grasp of your responsibilities and rights in this instance." A user who goes by u/puppyfarts99 on Reddit wrote, "NTA It's absolutely insane that they're even suggesting that you bear any responsibility at all for their son's medical bills, for all the reasons you outlined. And technically, he wasn't even on your premises when he was injured. You may want to look for another place to live, as I imagine, it could get awkward, if not ugly, to continue living there."