Tenant's home gets broken into, then landlords expects her to pay $500 dollars for negligent charges: 'Someone tried to break into my apartment how is this my fault?'

She didn't break the window. A burglar did. Her landlord sent her the bill anyway, and she wasn't having it.

When a property management company tried to call a criminal break-in attempt "tenant negligence," this tenant did exactly what everyone should do: went straight to the lease, read every word, and came back with receipts.

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Let's get the facts straight before we get into any of this. Last Thursday, someone tried to break into this tenant's apartment using what appears to have been a crowbar. The outer window panes broke during the attempt. The inner panes stayed intact. All doors and windows had been locked. A police report was filed immediately. Emergency maintenance was contacted the same day.
By any reasonable definition, this woman did everything right. And then the property management company sent her the bill.
Their reasoning: the broken window constitutes negligent damage, which under the lease falls under tenant responsibility. Never mind that the damage was done from outside the building. Never mind that the lease specifically states tenants are responsible for damages caused by themselves or their guests. Never mind that a person attempting to break into someone's home with a crowbar is, by definition, a criminal, not a tenant, not a guest, not anyone whose actions this woman could have controlled or prevented.
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She went back to the lease anyway. And then the handbook. She read both thoroughly and found exactly what most people would find: nothing that specifically addresses criminal damage. Because why would it? Tenant negligence and criminal break-in attempts are not the same category of event. One is a worn carpet or a hole in the wall. The other is a crime scene.
Her response to the property management company was calm, specific, and devastating. She pointed out that the damage was done to the outer structure of the building, not inside her apartment. She noted that the handbook's examples of negligent damage are all interior issues caused by the leasee or guests. She highlighted that criminal damage does not equal tenant negligence and that the building's property insurance, not her renter's insurance, is the appropriate place to file this claim. She even offered the police report reference number.
Then she pointed out that the rule they cited states damages are chargeable at the time of move out, and her lease doesn't end until next March.
Read your lease. Know your rights. And when someone tries to charge you for a crime someone else committed, ask them to show you exactly where it says that.
She did. They couldn't.
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