My rented house burned down. . .Law issues, help!?

Here is the deal.

I rented a trailer from one of my best friends dads. He rented it pretty cheap to me. The house burned down from a ciggarette. Before I moved in the house was a disaster, no air no heat. I put in new counter tops, carpet, painted. . .etc. I made it livable, and I loved it! It was MY home. (I am 22) Tragically it came to an end. And he just told me almost a month later that he wants me to pay $3500 for the house. There was NO insurance on this house. What if something did happen to me, wouldnt he be responsible? I live in SC and Im pretty sure its the law that he had insurance. Its not the only property he rents. But before I moved into that house he was going to GIVE IT AWAY to someone, as long as they just simply came and got it. I am in a bad situation here. I feel thta I shouldnt have to pay him a dime. I feel like he is just trying to get money out of me. I lose EVERYTHING that I owned and he wants $3500 out of me. Is this fair? The law?

I am not asking him to pay for anything that I loos. I later learned about renters insurance that I was not aware of. And I was very grateful to have lived there! What is the differene in someone leaving a curling iron on, or the stove, or anything else for that matter. . .whats the difference if its accidental? And for those of you saying that I am responsible because it was my cigarette are you saying this because you feel that way, or you know the law? ANOTHER THING: HE WAS GOING TO GIVE THE HOUSE AWAY FOR FREE before I moved into it. So how do I owe him??

Whose cigarette was it? I'm sure it wasn't your best friend's dad's. You are responsible.

It's YOUR responsibility to have renter's insurance on your property. He doesn't have to have insurance on the trailer if he doesn't have a loan he is paying on it. Unless it was HIS cigarette that burned the house down, how could you POSSIBLY think it was ANYONE'S fault but YOUR OWN! You would be responsible if something happened to you, especially since I'm sure it was YOUR cigarette or someone you had in your home, not the owner's.

Who's cigarette destroyed his property?

Maybe you/he can go after the person responsible?

If it was your cig then you will owe him the money

I believe in order to rent a home, there must be insurance on teh dwelling (not on the stuff inside, just the house) if he didn't have insurance, that's his problem.
Now, if you asked to be reimbursed for what you lost, then legally, it's tough cookies because he isn't responsible for what you owned.
First, find out if he actually had insurance on the place. If he did, he's not out anything and can't sue you for the property. If he didn't then you have another battle to fight. If it was your cig, or someone you invited into the home, then you are responsible. I hope you have some pics of the place from when you moved in and of the improvements you made, because sometimes I judge will deduct the money you put into the place from what the place is worth.
I think that if he didn't have insurance (he will most likely be fined for that if it's law) then you are going to be paying out something for the loss. I'm sorry you are in such as mess. Best of luck. I hope things get figured out for you.

Yeah, you're in a bad situation here. One of the advantages to renting is that you don't lose out if a house you own and owe on gets damaged or destroyed, but that comes with exceptions. One being events that occur from the renter's negligence.

If the fire had started from an electrical short, a lightning bolt, etc you'd be in the clear, the landlord may even owe you money if it was something they should have prevented. But it sounds like it was your cigarette, and thus your fault. Even if he'd had insurance, there's a good chance that if they knew a cig started it, that the insurance company would come after you.

You may be able to fight some of what he's asking for based on your improvements, but he's not responsible for your possessions, that's what renter's insurance is for.

He would also not be responsible for anything that happened to you. Sounds like you started the fire.


Edit~

If a curling iron or stove is left on by the renter and resulted in ashes, that renter would be in the exact same situation as you. The term "negligence" implies accident, you know, you didn't mean for anything to happen but because of your actions, it did.

There is only accidental or intentional. In this case intentional would be arson. You're not an arsonist but you're still responsible for starting the fire because it appears you misplaced your cigarette.

As for your cigarette, yes legally you're liable for what happens with your cigarette.

You didn't lose everything you owned you also lost something HE owned due to your own negligence.

You might be able to make a case that the trailer wasn't worth $3500 when you moved into it but after you made permanent improvements to it those improvements belonged to the owner of the trailer.

You also state that he let you live there "pretty cheap." You don't sound very grateful for that.

You could have put renter's insurance on your personal property but you didn't do that.

Bottom line: You burned it down; you have to pay for it.

I would gather togehter or make a list of the things and improvements you made to the place. I would also list everything you lost, although you should have had renters insurance to cover your loss, you may be able to sue him for the cost.....especially if he had no smoke detectors, fire extinguishers or anything in place in case there was a fire. (I think landlords have to install these devices in their rentals....it's depends on your fire codes in your town/city/state. Might be worht a looksie) Frankly, if the fire started while you were in the house, you could have been killed.

Unless he sues you, I'd blow him off, let alone pay him $3,500.

Don't pay him.
He's suppose to have insurance.
Remember homeowners that are suppose to have Workers Compensation.
If he rents and allows someone to live on his property, he is
in violation of numerous laws. Check your local ordinances.

In fact go to an attorney and sue his tire behind for lost of your
possessions for not having smoke detectors!
You could have been killed, OMG!

Sue him for $10,000 including emotional distress and the
improvements (if your receipts didn't burn in the fire?
NO. $25,000......$10k for your attorney fee's.
Or higher if your attorney is a good go gett'em personal injury attorney.

Maybe you can get witnesses or go back to the stores and
duplicate the receipts (I've done this)

So what even if it were YOUR cigarette.
You're still a human being and he's a grubby greedy landlord without INSURANCE!!!!

Where does he spend all of your hard earn rent money and the
other rents? At the race track, trips to the Bahama's.
Go gett'em TIGER.

THE KEY IS THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE SMOKE DETECTORS.
The law is the law.