Water damage from another (empty) apt -- next move? (apartment, lease, rental)

[Jokamel]

Hello all. My entire living room was flooded recently due to a leak coming from the apartment adjacent to mine, which management has kept empty for several years due to extensive water damage. Maintenance was responsive to my request for help, although it did take a couple of days to resolve the cause of the issue and get my carpet dry. At the very least, I figured I was due a carpet cleaning on behalf of the management. Not only do they refuse to clean it for free, but they actually told me I would be billed for the cleaning because they said there were "pet stains present." I'm not denying that my pet has had control issues recently, as I was in the hospital for a while and I've been working 12 hour days the past couple of months... but I have a very good carpet cleaner and it looks as good as you'd expect 5-year-old apartment carpet to look. I feel like this is an attempt by them to avoid having to pay for it. They are also refusing any compensation for my inconvenience (taking a day off of work to move things away from the water, etc.). I feel as though they are responsible because they kept active water service to an apartment that was abandoned due to water damage, which makes no sense to me. Any advice?

Many thanks!

[jilllianicc]

Please check your lease and see if there are any 'waivers' in there. There are some landlords that waive responsibility for what happens in the rental during a tenant's stay. If such a waiver exists in your lease, you'll have a hard time holding them accountable for what happened. On the other hand, if there is no waiver, you can point this out to them. You should also check your state laws regarding this matter. If worse comes to worst, consult a lawyer.