Can i be held accountable for an " undetermined fire" on my apartment

Question

The cause of the fire was of undetermined by theFD investigator , but my lamdlord wants to hold me liable for it , is there something I can do?

Answer 1

More details! Do tell!!  What room did the fire start in? Did it start in a wall? Was it overloaded electric outlets? Was it that you fell asleep while smoking? Maybe you had a bong party with some disreputable types. Did you?

Yeah, unless the FD can show the fire was caused by poor wiring or a faulty appliance provided by the landlord, I would say you or your gear caused the fire. (Would that fire have happened if you had not rented?)

Is there something you can do? Yes! The fire damage to the building is covered by the landlord's fire insurance--he pays them to assume the liability for fires. The damage to your gear is covered by your renter's policy. Stick up for your rights--tell the landlord to take the FD report to his insurance company to get the damage fixed. (Your rent already contributed to the insurance premium.)

If the landlord is obstinate, let him sue. He won't win because he doesn't have FD proof that you did it. AND that would put him at risk for a retaliation suit. Let him make the next move--and you counter it with a better move.

Tell your landlord that you'll deal with his insurance company, not him. And, better yet, have YOUR renter insurance company deal with HIS insurance company. And if the landlord doesn't have fire insurance, well, THAT'S a real problem right there!