My mother was displaced from her condo due to a fire. The fire was caused by the renter of another condo who placed a candle too close to a Christmas tree. My mother had to pay $1000 deductable and has been displaced from her home for over 6 months. The workers repairing the roof/rafters/ceiling damage done to her condo have tracked mud over her upstairs carpet. The carpet was pulled up to see if there was damage done to her subfloor from water which did damage her ceiling. It was determined that there was no damage to the floors and they plan to restretch the carpet instead of replacing it. Windows have been left over by construction workers allowing rain to come in and wet the carpet/subfloor. The carpet is 7years old, but as my mother rarely uses her upstairs, the carpet was in excellent condition. The walls have been dinged by ladders and construction and the contractor plans to "touch the paint up". We feel it should be repainted completely. My mother, who is 80 years old has been very distressed over the entire situation. Does she have a case?

Did the renter have insurance? If so, your mother should put in a claim against their insurance. Should at least cover the deductible. If not, she can sue the renter.

But that doesn't address your question. Her insurance coverage should make her whole. That means restoring her unit to pre fire condition. If they don't she has a case against them. But its going to be hard to prove they didn't.

Something else I don't understand is why she has been displaced for so long. The damage doesn't sound like it should have taken 6 months to repair.

Did the renter have insurance? If so, your mother should put in a claim against their insurance. Should at least cover the deductible. If not, she can sue the renter.

But that doesn't address your question. Her insurance coverage should make her whole. That means restoring her unit to pre fire condition. If they don't she has a case against them. But its going to be hard to prove they didn't.

Something else I don't understand is why she has been displaced for so long. The damage doesn't sound like it should have taken 6 months to repair.

It took the insurance companies and the HOA 3 months to decide who would pay what before the reconstruction could even begin. Also- they had to completely replace the rafters/roof of the adjoining much more damaged units. The fire began one unit over from my mom's and it was completely gutted by the fire. There is no electricity to the unit as well- so she is displaced until most of the damage is repaired.

... Does she have a case?

For what, exactly?

As ScottGem has explained, yes for her deductible against the person who started the fire, and for everything else against her own insurance carroer.

Which carrier pays is of no consequense to her. That's between them.

As to the specific items of damage, someone, the insurance carriers or the contractor should pay for:


lost use of the premises: sure. They should pay whatever it cost her to live somewhere else until the place is ready.

Moving expenses, if any.

The carpet: If it was undamaged and they put it back down properly, no. However if they were responsible for mud or rain damage to it, sure.

"Dinged" paint on walls: yes. If touch-up painting won't make it look as good as it was before, they should re-paint.

condo due to a fire
Hazard insurance for a condominium would be an condominium association responsibility. Any deductible would also be an association cost.
Are you speaking of an addition insurance policy your mother may have had on her unit?

You used the term HOA, is this a condominium or is it a Home Owners Association?
Two very different things?