CAMPUS: Storm remnants hit Indiana; flood damage a problem

With the heavy rains of Hurricane Katrina's remnants drowning the city, students across town could be facing flooded basements and drenched ground-floor rooms. To make matters worse, if students don't have flood insurance and have never lodged any problems with their landlord previously, they're pretty much out of luck.\nPaula Gordon, director of IU Student Legal Services, said if flooding happens for the first time, the landlord isn't responsible for damages.\n"If there's something that is perceived as an act of God -- in other words a torrential, torrential rain or a hurricane -- and the basement has never flooded before or the roof has never leaked before, there's nothing the student can do," she said. "Hopefully, they have insurance."\nGordon noted the landlord could be liable in certain situations, though probably not in an extreme scenario like this week when hurricane rains could wreak havoc, which has never been a problem before.\n"Every situation is going to be different, but what you have is a general proposition: the first time is too bad," she said. "But, if it's happened before and the landlord didn't fix it or didn't do it properly, then they are liable."\nGordon said the best solution is to invest in insurance that will cover any damages associated with flooding.\n"That's the best advice you can give them," Gordon said. "In general, the landlord is not an insurer. If anything goes wrong, that doesn't mean the landlord is responsible. And renter's insurance really is very inexpensive."\nRon Hardesty, a principal insurance agent with Hardesty Insurance in Bloomington, offers coverage that protects against flooding, but said he only sells about six or seven such policies a year. He said heavy rains spur a flurry of calls, but many come when it's already too late to buy any financial protection.\n"Today, with the creeks rising and the rain and the flood watch, there's no way to get it at this point," Hardesty said. "It's something that's way undersold. You hope everyone is made aware of it, but most seem to think it just won't happen to them."\nHardesty said he estimates the policies cost about $200 a year for up to $10,000 in coverage.\nSusie Johnson, director of Housing and Neighborhood Development with the city, receives calls from students whose basements are leaking and wonder how to work out the problem with their landlord. While Johnson said there isn't much her department can do besides asking the landlord to work with the tenant, she said the most important step to avoid problems comes before the lease is ever signed. \n"I've been doing this for 15 years (and) I can't tell you how many renters lease places and come August, they are surprised and shocked of the condition of the property," Johnson said. "The condition hasn't changed, they just didn't look carefully enough when they moved in. Be a good consumer."\nJohnson said her department will get involved if a landlord doesn't correct a problem after being given a reasonable time to fix it in.\n"If it's a hole in the basement wall, a reasonable time might be three to four weeks," she said. "If the landlord doesn't make the repair, they should give us a call and we'll do an inspection. If the complaint is valid, we'll issue an order to the landlord."\nGordon agreed and said storms like this underscore the importance of thoroughly checking the apartment and notifying the landlord immediately of any problems that could cause flooding or water damage.\n"Let the landlord know immediately of anything and put it in writing," she said. "But even more importantly is getting renter's insurance."\n-- Managing Editor Mallory Simon contributed to this story.