Some people are idiots

[nightfighter]

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, if he wants them out as tenants... A call to the health or building dept. to make inhabitable, DUE TO TENANT ACTION. Tenant should be liable for damages, which won't be completely known until everything is thawed, or busted.
40B/Section 8 has its place, but I think it is abused 75% of the time, on both tenant and landlord sides.

[Slipknot]

What kind of moron goes on vacation for 2 weeks without doing the dishes before they leave?

I feel bad for your friend, better be sure he has contacted his Ins, agent pronto. That is gonna be a huge undertaking fixing that mess. Must be hot air heat because if it was forced hot water, that system would be toast too
Unbelievable

[OX]

Must be nice to live in Sect 8 housing and be able to go on vacation for 2 weeks.

[Raider Ronnie]

We had something much worse than this at my grandfathers auto repair shop when I was younger.
Attached to our shop was a few store fronts and on top of that was an 8 room apartment that my grandfather rented out.
I think it was around 1978 - 79 christmas day, my grandfather and I went out in the early morning to get a few things at a bakery and as a habit, we drove past our shop to check on things, that morning the temp was below 0 .
We arrive to find ice every where and covering the building.
Turns out, the old lady renting the place hadn't been there in months and hadn't paid any bills in months!
Gas co shut off her gas, no heat, pipes froze and burst the night before!
Turns out, the old lady was going around collecting from peoples trash and bringing it to the apartment, and when we got inside, there was trash 3-4 ft high EVERYWHERE !!! you couldn't see 1 inch of the floor anywhere !!! all 8 rooms
Hope things work out better for you and your friend !

[Bass Babe]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

What kind of moron goes on vacation for 2 weeks without doing the dishes before they leave?

I hate to break it to you, duders, but I totally would go on vacation without doing dishes. If I would, I'm pretty sure other people would as well.

I used to leave college for winter break (a month or so?) and put all my dishes in a plastic bag under my bed so that when they did room checks I wouldn't get in trouble.

I just had to do dishes tonite, simply because we were out of plates and bowls and RRC had to eat cereal out of a measuring cup.

However, I would NOT let my pipes freeze.

If someone needs subsidized housing, how can they afford to vacation for two weeks? I don't qualify for government assistance of any kind, and I can't afford to vacation! Oh right, I need to pop out a couple kids to get the freebies... On second thought, I'd rather not go on vacation.

[Slipknot]

don't sweat it bassbabe, it was a joke, making light of the turning the heat off stupidity

[UserRemoved1]

what he said. section 8 sux. abusal is an understatement. tenant is responsible for this stuff i believe, that's why they have renters insurance. good luck getting paid though if they're section 8....

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, if he wants them out as tenants... A call to the health or building dept. to make inhabitable, DUE TO TENANT ACTION. Tenant should be liable for damages, which won't be completely known until everything is thawed, or busted.
40B/Section 8 has its place, but I think it is abused 75% of the time, on both tenant and landlord sides.

[BigFish]

Yup! Blood from a stone! The only way you save money here is to avoid going to court and paying the Lawyers!!!

[labrax]

Happened to my Dad and Mom when they had a triple decker in Dorchester. Dad did all the remodeling and was taken to court for lead paint by a scumbag tenant that would not pay the rent. I believe they were backed up by city at the time - problem is no one inspected it - there was not a bit of lead paint in there. Judge threw that out, but hassle and expense of defending it for no reason. We eventually moved out and rented it for a while - until another tenant did the same thing as you experienced - burst the pipes on the third floor and just about ruined the place. They gave it to HUD. Big mistake as it probably is worth 500k now (30yrs later)

[Diggin Jiggin]

My parents had a second floor pipe burst when we were on vacation and no one was home. The heat was on but the pipe still froze as I guess it was run thru an area that wasn't adequately heated or insulated.

They live at the end of a dirt road with not many neighbors and by the time we found out about it, water was coming out thru the first floor shingles, the ceilings came down and the entire house ended up getting gutted right back to the studs..