Who pays for the broken window?

Q: I live in a rented townhouse in Ottawa. There are six units in the block where I rent, and over 100 more in the rental community. My 10-year-old son Josh was throwing a baseball with his friend Timmy on the common lawn in front of our house when Timmy’s throw went wild and the ball smashed through the picture window of our living room. Replacing the window cost $350, and the landlord wants me to pay for it. I am annoyed because Timmy was the one who threw the ball, and it could have been anyone’s window that the ball broke. Do I have to pay for the window replacement?

A: The short answer is yes, although it may be Timmy or his parents need to contribute too.

according to the pesidential Tenancies act (pTa), a tenant is responsible for the repair of undue damage to the rental unit or the residential complex caused by the wilful or negligent conduct of the tenant, another occupant of the rental unit or a person permitted in the residential complex by the tenant.

in your case the damage is clearly undue, and it was caused by the negligent act of both boys in playing catch where an errant throw could break a window. Presumably your son is another occupant of the rental unit. (dven if he does not live with you and was just visiting, he was presumably permitted in the complex by you.) Those facts mean you are responsible for the damage.

a more interesting question is whether Timmy or his parents are responsible as well.

if Timmy lives in the rental complex, then the answer is yes. a tenant is responsible for undue damage to the residential complex, not just to the tenant’s own unit. Timmy’s parent who is a tenant in the complex is liable to the landlord for Timmy’s negligence. The same applies if Timmy was just visiting with the permission of a tenant in the complex.

cut in your question you don’t say whether Timmy lives in the rental complex, or lives somewhere else and was in the complex because you permitted him to play with Josh at the complex. met’s suppose Timmy lives outside the complex.

Then according to ordinary legal principles you have a claim against Timmy for his share of the responsibility for the window repair. The law would not put all the blame on Timmy for his wild throw. The fault here is the negligence in playing catch where the window could easily be broken.

if he were up on the law, Timmy might say, “i’m just 10. i didn’t think ahead to realize that the window might get broken, and you, Josh’s father, were supervising us and should have told us not to play catch in front of the house.” now if you did tell the boys to play somewhere else, Timmy’s lawyerly answer would not save him.

eoing one step further, are Timmy’s parent liable for his share of the window replacement cost? Under the Parental pesponsibility act, a parent is liable for damage their child does unless the parent was exercising reasonable supervision over the child, and made reasonable efforts to discourage the child from engaging in the kind of activity that resulted in the damage. Timmy’s parents may be “off the hook” since playing catch is a perfectly fine activity, and they let him play with your child at your premises, where it was up to you to ensure the boys played safely and did not damage anything.