So I am renting a condo from someone, and recently the garbage disposal completely broke. It had been leaking massively and was apparently corroded and irreparable. I live in Washington DC, and when the plumber came to fix everything he said that there was an Air Gap Code Violation and he had to fix it before proceeding. So I let him do his thing and everything turned out fine.

Now the landlord is trying to make me pay for half of the cost because she says it was too expensive and that she would have done things differently. Does anyone here know about the protocol for Air Gap Code Violations and what I could tell her about them? As I said, the plumber said he had to fix it before proceeding. Is this often how it works? Does anyone know if in D.C. they regulate this thing heavily?

Thanks for any information!

I would have your landlord call the plumbing company that did the work. They are responsible for explaining what they did and why. You are not. You should not be responsible for any repair cost(unless directly caused by you). You are paying rent, it is the landlords responsibility to cover cost of repairs. They should be dealing one on one with the repair company, not you. Hopefully you didn't contact the plumber yourself. If you did, you may be liable to pay the bill. Any time you have any problem with your rented space, you need to contact the landlord and let them deal with it, unless you are willing to pay the bill. Hope landlord will take care of this. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

Any time you have any problem with your rented space, you need to contact the landlord and let them deal with it, unless you are willing to pay the bill.

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Agreed. I ran into this in college and got the shaft because I called someone to fix our furnace (because the landlord said it was fine). Ugh...

I hope it all works out for you. :)

Thanks for the help. Actually it went something like this -- she's out of the country so I'm supposed to call her dad. She had said that she would look around for a plumber and she never did. I contacted her a few times by email until finally she said just call a plumber, get it dealt with and deduct the cost from the rent. When the plumber got here I tried to contact her dad, but he didn't answer the phone and I couldn't wait any longer. Now because of the cost she wants to split it. I'm renting from her, not her father.

Any thoughs?

I should clarify that I am not siding with the landlord. Just stating how it works. I truly hope that you have a decent person for a landlord and that they will take care of repairs on their property. If not, I would look at relocation, if possible. Let the next renter deal with the problems.

I appreciate the information, no need to say who you side with. I'm a law student so I understand how rules can be (didn't know this one though). Which is one of the reasons I authorized the air gap fixing in the first place...

You are in a tight spot. Who was the bill sent to? If it was sent to you, you may be responsible. If it was sent to her or her dad, they are responsible. Like I said, tell her she needs to speak with the plumber if she feels that the cost is to high, not your responsibility. You didn't do the work or wright the bill, the plumber did. I still don't think you should split the cost. It should be her problem. But you have learned a valuable lesson. You need to make sure the landlord, or whoever is running the property, is the person to call for repairs. As soon as you make the call yourself, you may be liable to pay the bill(unless you have it in writing that you were allowed to do this) Stick to your guns. If she said you could call the plumber, then make her deal with the high cost of it. Its not like you told him to do a bunch of repairs that were not necessary. He only did what he was required to do by code(law). And if he did more than he had to, then it is the landlords responsibility to straighten it out.

Since you are a law student you should be able to plead your case in a manner to the landlord and the plumber to the point that you will not be out any expenses.

Exactly, this could be a very good opportunity to practice your studies. However, I would only practice them on the landlord, because, believe me, the plumber won't have much sympathy, and in a court of law, they were called to do a job, completed the job, and have a right to be paid for said job.

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Originally Posted by letmetellu

Since you are a law student you should be able to plead your case in a manner to the landlord and the plumber to the point that you will not be out any expenses.

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Hence the reason I'm here looking for some info about the Code.

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Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

exactly, this could be a very good opportunity to practice your studies. However, i would only practice them on the landlord, because, believe me, the plumber wont have much sympathy, and in a court of law, they were called to do a job, completed the job, and have a right to be paid for said job.

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I don't plan on giving the plumber any problems. He was really helpful and friendly. And anyway the guy already got his money since I paid him on the spot expecting to be reimbursed (i.e. deduct it from the rent). Now time to pay rent fast approaches and she wants me to pay half the cost...

Like I said, you are in a tight spot, especially since you have already paid for the work. It now all boils down to two options. Hope you have a decent landlord that will take care of the whole bill. Or threaten them with a lawsuit. But you and I both know that a lawsuit is going to cost you much more than the cost of half the plumbing repairs. I still think that if the landlord is unhappy about the cost of repairs, she needs to contact the plumbing company and talk to them. I find it hard to believe that you would be responsible for any payment.

If worse comes to worse. Just don't pay the rent that you spent on the plumbing. You most likely have put down a deposit, if this doesn't get resolved, I promise, you will be fighting to get your deposit back. Life sucks, and sometimes landlords do to. I don't really know what else to say. All depends on the type of person your landlord is.

You have paid the bill, so the plumbers is plumb tickled. It is now a fight between you and your landlord. I wish you the best.

Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it. I think it will work out. I'm just doing some research and I'll let her know I had no control over the air gap work. Anyway thanks again!

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Originally Posted by deecee

Hence the reason I'm here looking for some info about the Code.

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There are different codes about the air gap system in different states, so what you need to do is find someone in D.C. that can tell you what it is there. There is a chance that the D.C. Code os posted on the internet. That will give you another chance to peek up your surfing abilities, I hope it is better than mine, I can never find what I want to find. Cood Luck.

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when the plumber came to fix everything he said that there was an Air Gap Code Violation and he had to fix it before proceeding

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The plumber was way out of line to tear apart and fix something without a work order giving him permission to do so. He had no authority to tear into your plumbing on his own.What did he say was wrong with the air gap? Case in point! What if the plumber would have walked into a older home with "S" traps. Would he then take it upon himself to tear out the drainage and install vents and "P" traps? SAME THING! The charge should be modified by the plumbing company. This should be between the landlord and the plumbing company. Good luck, Tom

Quite right speedball, guess we would have to know the exact details of the project. Hard to say without being there. I think the problems arose when the renter authorized the fixing of the air gap, when it should have been left up to the landlord to decide. Possibly making renter responsible for partial payment. Just a bad deal. I also truly hope it works out well for you.

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Originally Posted by deecee
I'm here looking for some info about the Code.

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There are only two types of dishwasher air gaps.
1) A counter top air gap,(see image) **or**
2) A high loop air gap,(see image).
Which one was your overzealous plumber unhappy with? Did you give bthe plumber explicit permission to do the work or did he just take it upon himself?
I want to hear more about this. Tom

Great images. As you know, I'm under upc, but our local inspector (and me) thinks the counter mount air gap is bs. Tells us to just run the high loop. One less thing to go wrong with a system.

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Originally Posted by mygirlsdad77

great images. As you know, im under upc, but our local inspector (and me) thinks the counter mount air gap is bs. Tells us to just run the high loop. One less thing to go wrong with a system.

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Thanks Dad you made made my day! We had another expert, (Growler) that worked under UPC but he argued the if you didn't install it the UPC way that you were dead wrong. I just couldn't get him to think outside of the UPC box.
Good plumber but hung up on code. This page isn't about code. That isn't to say we recommend unsafe plumbing practice. This page is about getting the asker fixed as cheap and easy as possible. If that means that sometimes we have to tiptoe around the code to do that then that's what we do. I suppect that sooner or later UPC will be dragged kicking and screaming out with the rest of the 90% of us. Have a good one, Tom

Agree