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What is
Landlord Liability Insurance?
Insurance Landlord Liability Guide
Do
you know how
to protect yourself as a landlord if your tenant sues you? Learn
what is landlord liability insurance and
it can protect landlords from lawsuits and heavy financial losses. If
you own rental properties, find out if you should be buying rental
property liability insurance today.
What
is Landlord Liability Insurance?
If
your property has any defects or flaws that causes injury or loss to
your tenants, they can sue you for damages. Insurance landlord
liability will
cover the claims being paid out to your tenants and any legal
fees
that you may incur due to the lawsuit. That way you prevent yourself
from suffering heavy financial losses.
When you are shopping for
landlord liability insurance, make sure the your policy covers not just
physical injury but also libel, slander, discrimination, unlawful
eviction and invasion of privacy suffered by tenants.
How much should your rental property liability insurance cover? A
general rule of thumb
is to be insured for a sum that is equal to your entire net worth. For
example if your entire wealth is worth $1.5 million, your rental
property liability insurance
should cover up to that amount.
If
Your Tenant Suffers Injuries on Your Property, Can You be Sued by Him?
Before
buying insurance landlord liability, you should know when and how you
can be sued for a tenant's injury. To
be held responsible for an injury on your property, you must be
negligent in maintaining the property and your negligence must have
caused the injury.
All of the
following has to be proven before a landlord can be held liable:
- You are
responsible for maintaining the part of the property which caused the
accident.
- You did not
take reasonable actions to avoid the accident.
- It is not
too costly or difficult to solve the problem or to at least
give warning in advance to your tenants.
- It is
predictable that the defect on your property will be likely to cause
serious injuries.
- It is your
negligence as landlord or property manager that caused your tenant to
suffer injuries.
- Your
tenant's injuries are confirmed to be real.
Simple
Steps You Can Take to Minimize Lawsuits from Tenant Injuries
Although
landlord liability insurance can cover your losses in case of
a lawsuit, prevention is always better than cure.
Before
your tenant even moves in, ask him to inspect your property and confirm
that everything is in working order. Once he is satisfied with the
condition of your property, get him to sign a tenant move in check list.
You should encourage your tenants to report any security or safety
issues immediately. These problem can include things like leaky pipes,
faulty locks, broke doors or cracks on the floorboard.
If the
defect or damage to your property is serious, then you should have it
fixed within 48 hours. Update your tenants on the progress of the
repair works.
Always keep written records of when tenant
made the report and how & when the issue was settled. Keep the
receipts by given the repairman as proof that you have acted to fix the
problem.
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