The setup
- Building
- Single-story strip center with five suites under one roof, built in the 1980s
- Origin
- Back storage room of the middle suite
- Suppression
- Sprinkler heads activated in the origin suite; firefighters ventilated the roof area
- Affected neighbor followed here
- A small service business in the next suite, with carpet, a dropped ceiling and computer equipment
What happened
Illustrative example. Not a real job or customer.
The neighbor arrives in the morning to find wet carpet along the shared wall, stained ceiling tiles, and a smoky smell throughout the suite. The landlord has already called a contractor for the origin suite. Nobody has said anything about the neighboring spaces.
- The tenant photographs the suite before touching anything, including the ceiling grid, wet carpet and equipment.
- They notify their business insurer and send written notice to the landlord as the lease requires.
- They ask the landlord whether the area above the ceiling tiles and the rooftop unit serving their suite will be inspected and cleaned.
- The landlord's contractor confirms that the space above the ceilings is open between several suites, and that smoke residue is present above all three.
- The tenant's insurer sends an adjuster for inventory, equipment and business income; the landlord's insurer handles the shell, ceiling grid and shared HVAC.
- Wet carpet and pad along the shared wall are removed; the tenant improvements are dried and cleaned.
- Computers and printers are set aside for evaluation by an electronics specialist rather than powered up.
- The suite reopens after ceiling tiles are replaced, carpet is reinstalled and the HVAC is cleaned.
Because the tenant documented everything on day one and put requests to the landlord in writing, the division of costs between the landlord's and tenant's insurers was clear. Business income records showed the days closed and the revenue lost.
Who handled what in this example
| Item | Handled by | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Roof, structure and shell | Landlord | Under the lease's repair clause |
| Ceiling grid and space above | Landlord | Common plenum served several suites |
| Rooftop HVAC serving the suite | Landlord | Lease made the landlord responsible for HVAC |
| Carpet and interior walls | Tenant's insurer | Installed as tenant improvements |
| Computers and inventory | Tenant's insurer | Evaluated before replacement |
| Lost income | Tenant's insurer | Business income coverage, after the waiting period |
What a neighboring tenant can do in the first 48 hours
- Photograph everything, including above any lifted ceiling tile if it is safe.
- Do not power up wet or smoke-exposed electronics.
- Give written notice to the landlord and your insurer.
- Start a log of closure days and extra expenses.
- Ask whether the shared ceiling space and HVAC are part of the landlord's cleanup.
General information for Westminster, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.