New roof being installed - who fixes what?

[Immadismom]

We live in a rented house, and have been very good, reliable tenants for the past 4 years. Due to a recent hail storm, the roof is being replaced. Roofers were here most of today, and will finish up tomorrow. We have now discovered that they have disabled our satellite dish, so we have no signal and will need to have DirecTV come out to reposition the satellite. DH is understandably upset, as DirecTV charges for this service, not to mention we have to take the time off of work to deal with it. My question is, who pays for the DirecTV charge? I’m sure they’re going to say they can’t replace the roof without moving the dish, so we just have to deal. But surely we’re not the only people to ever get a new roof with a dish and I’ve never heard of this being an issue.

 

[sonnyjane]

We live in a rented house, and have been very good, reliable tenants for the past 4 years. Due to a recent hail storm, the roof is being replaced. Roofers were here most of today, and will finish up tomorrow. We have now discovered that they have disabled our satellite dish, so we have no signal and will need to have DirecTV come out to reposition the satellite. DH is understandably upset, as DirecTV charges for this service, not to mention we have to take the time off of work to deal with it. My question is, who pays for the DirecTV charge? I’m sure they’re going to say they can’t replace the roof without moving the dish, so we just have to deal. But surely we’re not the only people to ever get a new roof with a dish and I’ve never heard of this being an issue.

Who SHOULD pay is kind of gray. A very nice landlord would pay for it, but it’s something as a tenant I’d be willing to just pay so as to keep relations strong, especially if I was the one that paid to install the dish (don’t know if you did or not).

 

[barkley]

i would talk to my landlord about how they want it handled. when the time comes to move direct tv will just leave the dish so to some extent it's an advantage to the owner (can say it's direct tv ready to a potential renter).

 

[mnrose]

We recently had to have roof and siding done because of hail damage. In the process, electrical was cut to lots of our lights (not exactly the same as your satellite dish, but similar), and insurance paid to have it put back the way it was (i.e., paid for the electrician to come).

Now, here's the rub. We owned the house and everything on it so our homeowners clearly covered everything involved, including restoring the electricity.. It sounds like as renters, YOU are the ones who contracted directly with DirectTV. Is that right? If so, the question would be whether YOU have insurance that covers it. Your landlords insurance only covers what HE owns/leases....not stuff that you own/lease. If your landlord pays for it, it's going to be out of his pocket. Not insurance. Now, if the landlord had the dish installed, then sure, his insurance should cover it.

 

[Hikergirl]

Did you have the Direct TV installed originally or did the landlord?
If it was you I would say you should pay, if it was the landlord then I would say they should.

 

[endy]

My thought is the roofers should pay. Or the landlord pays and dedeucts it from the roofers.
I don't think the renter should pay as it's not their roof.
The roofers should have been more careful, surely it's not the first time there was a dish involved.

 

[vacationer1954]

If "DirecTV hookup" was indicated in the advertisement for the rental and/or is promised in the rental agreement, then the landlord should pay. If the DirecTV hookup was added by the tenant, then the tenant should pay.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I agree with PPs that if you own the dish and had it placed there, that cost is on you. Perhaps renter's insurance might cover the fee? It's worth asking.

 

[sam_gordon]

The fee from DirecTV is probably ~$150. Insurance deductible is more than that.

I agree with others, whoever put up the dish is responsible for paying to have it put back up.

That’s assuming the dish was mounted to the roof and had to come down to replace the roof. If the dish was mounted to the side of the house (for example), and the roofers damaged it/knocked it off, THEY’’RE responsible.

Roofers would not/should not be expected to be able to take down a dish and put it back up so it works.

 

[Wishing on a star]

This is a tough one...
Get with your Landlord/Owner.

You do NOT 'own' that dish.
So, it is not your property that is covered under any renters insurance.

Also, there could be issues with contractor licensing... like here... If you get new kitchen cabinets, they will NOT hook your kitchen plumbing back up. Contracters can be limited as to which work they can and can not do. Roofers are NOT cable antenna technicians.

They probably should have called, or had YOU call the cable company, and not even touched that dish?????

It def. IS part of the claim on the hail-storm damage.

If you have a good relationship with your landlords, ask them if they can help sort it out... Contact their insurance, etc...

 

[jevs]

This is a tough one...
Get with your Landlord/Owner.

You do NOT 'own' that dish.
So, it is not your property that is covered under any renters insurance.

Also, there could be issues with contractor licensing... like here... If you get new kitchen cabinets, they will NOT hook your kitchen plumbing back up. Contracters can be limited as to which work they can and can not do. Roofers are NOT cable antenna technicians.

They probably should have called, or had YOU call the cable company, and not even touched that dish?????

It def. IS part of the claim on the hail-storm damage.

If you have a good relationship with your landlords, ask them if they can help sort it out... Contact their insurance, etc...

 

[tvguy]

That's a tenant improvement and your responsibility IMHO.
Is it a single story house? Can you reach the dish? There is a setup channel on your TV. Have someone watch the setup channel and the signal strength, another person realign the dish until it is aligned. Very simple to do other than the ladder. That's what most folks do with travel trailers with Dishes on a tripod. They have someone inside the trailer watch the setup channel while someone points the dish south and then sights in the signal.

Here are some tips.

 

[GreatLakes]

On any of our rental units that would be a tenant improvement that is the responsibility of the tenant. I wouldn't be paying for it. Personally I would just go up and install it myself. It isn't very hard to do. However, that isn't always an option if you are not the homeowner. For example all of our leases include a clause that any tenant improvement must be first approved by the landlord and also be done by a fully licenses and insured contractor.

 

[scrapquitler]

We live in a rented house, and have been very good, reliable tenants for the past 4 years. Due to a recent hail storm, the roof is being replaced. Roofers were here most of today, and will finish up tomorrow. We have now discovered that they have disabled our satellite dish, so we have no signal and will need to have DirecTV come out to reposition the satellite. DH is understandably upset, as DirecTV charges for this service, not to mention we have to take the time off of work to deal with it. My question is, who pays for the DirecTV charge? I’m sure they’re going to say they can’t replace the roof without moving the dish, so we just have to deal. But surely we’re not the only people to ever get a new roof with a dish and I’ve never heard of this being an issue.

When we had our roof done, the roofers put everything back to the condition it was in before they started the job (they raked around the perimiter of the house to make sure they cleaned everything up, etc.). I would think that if they had to move the dish to do the roof, they should put it back and leave it as if they had never been there.

 

[Immadismom]

So here’s the kicker. We had Dish Network at our last home, and we were going to have that installed. However, the house already had a DirecTV satellite on it, so we agreed with the landlord to use that service, rather than install a new dish on the roof. Never even thought about it when he said he was having the roof replaced.

DH has been in contact with the landlord and he told us to have DirecTV repair the dish, and submit the bill to him. He says his insurance claim will cover that cost. So, fingers crossed it goes well. $150 isn’t a big deal, but we are wanting to buy a home again (after 5 yrs of renting) next year, so every penny we can save is a help!

 

[Immadismom]

When we had our roof done, the roofers put everything back to the condition it was in before they started the job (they raked around the perimiter of the house to make sure they cleaned everything up, etc.). I would think that if they had to move the dish to do the roof, they should put it back and leave it as if they had never been there.

This is hilarious, because these roofers are a joke. Our yard is trashed. The house across the street is also having their roof replaced & their roofers also cleaned everything up and left it looking better than when they arrived. Our guys have cigarette butts everywhere, trash laying around. They didn’t finish yesterday & we just found out they won’t be done today (didn’t even arrive until after lunch time) and the landlord hopes they’ll be done tomorrow.

 

[scrapquitler]

This is hilarious, because these roofers are a joke. Our yard is trashed. The house across the street is also having their roof replaced & their roofers also cleaned everything up and left it looking better than when they arrived. Our guys have cigarette butts everywhere, trash laying around. They didn’t finish yesterday & we just found out they won’t be done today (didn’t even arrive until after lunch time) and the landlord hopes they’ll be done tomorrow.

It sounds like your landlord picked a dud of a roofer, but if there was a big storm and widespread damage, it may have been the only contractor he could get in a resonable time. We had a tornado here, and they still haven't managed to get things cleaned up everywhere (and it has been two months).

Our yard looked better after the roofers left than it did before they arrived. They did 95% of the work and cleanup in one day, and then one guy came back the next day to finish the flashing around the vent and remove the last of the extra materials. I was thrilled.

 

[Ephany]

We had a similar situation earlier in the year, thanks to Irma and hurricane damage. We enrolled in a $7.99 per month protection place through Directv and that covered putting the dish back up. There were no penalties for canceling, although my DH forgot for a month or two so we ended up paying something like $30 in total. Oh, and they updated the dish to a newer model also.

 

[Immadismom]

We had a similar situation earlier in the year, thanks to Irma and hurricane damage. We enrolled in a $7.99 per month protection place through Directv and that covered putting the dish back up. There were no penalties for canceling, although my DH forgot for a month or two so we ended up paying something like $30 in total. Oh, and they updated the dish to a newer model also.

Now this I would be interested in! I’ll feel them out when we call & see if we can do similar. Thanks!

 

[Immadismom]

It sounds like your landlord picked a dud of a roofer, but if there was a big storm and widespread damage, it may have been the only contractor he could get in a resonable time. We had a tornado here, and they still haven't managed to get things cleaned up everywhere (and it has been two months).

Our yard looked better after the roofers left than it did before they arrived. They did 95% of the work and cleanup in one day, and then one guy came back the next day to finish the flashing around the vent and remove the last of the extra materials. I was thrilled.

We got a dud. I met the two guys...I wouldn’t have ever hired them just based on speaking with them. But, we’re not paying, so not our call. DH did say the landlord swung by, saw the mess & has contacted the roofing company's Owner to let him know he expects the yard to be properly cleaned up. We keep an immaculate yard, and the landlord loves it, so he let them know he expects it cleaned up.