Where do Rent payers stand when it comes to Building Insurance?

Question

I currently rent property and have a dispute with the owner of the property over who pays for Buildings insurance. I have taken out & pay for myself Contents insurance to cover my belongings but who has to take out & pay for buildings insurance?

Please help ;-)

Answer 1

the landlord is responsible for maintaining insurance on the property (building, structure, land, etc.) a tenant is responsible for insuring the contents inside the property. so if there's a fire, the landlord's company pays to replace the building. the renter's insurance company pays to replace belongings. hope that helps. good luck!

Answer 2

Well, it depends on the lease. I see about 30% of commercial leases require the renter (who rents the entire building) to cover the building insurance AND property taxes (called a triple net lease). However, when it's my client, I always recommend AGAINST that, because then the coverage is out of the building owner's hands. If the tenant fails to pay the bill, and the building burns down, the OWNER has a big problem on his hands.

What happens in other cases, the cost of building insurance is figured out, and added to the expenses of property rental, and considered when the landlord sets the rent. That way, the property owner controls the policy, and any payment check goes to HIM (otherwise, if the building burns down, the check is made payable to both the tenant AND the landlord, if the policy is written correctly). But rent ultimately includes insurance costs, maintenance costs, property tax costs, utility costs, etc, otherwise, the landlord wouldn't be able to afford to rent to people! The whole rental property thing is supposed to make them money, you know?

So the bottom line is, if the lease does NOT specifically say that the tenant carries the building insurance, it's not the tenant's responsibility.

Answer 3

Hope this helps, I was a trained advisor for home insurance until earlier today, so I still have a lot of knowledge "up here".

This is from a UK point of view btw, so i'm not sure if you're in england or another country.

The landlord has to claim his property is inhabited by tenants.
As far as I understand they have to insure the building aspect, which leads yourself to have to cover the contents insurance. When I set up a policy for a property occupied by tenants, I was unable to give :

any accidental damage cover
legal expense cover
any other ancilliaries

Translated, the landlord must pay the buildings, you the contents.

My best advice though?

Call the company the landlord is with and enquire about it to them. They may have different regulations, and they will be the ones who can answer your questions to the fullest.

Answer 4

You should check the terms of the lease/licence. In the majority of cases a landlord will insure the building since he only rents out the space within it. He then usually is able to claim this back from the tenant as insurance rent. You will always have to cover the contents as these are your specific property, some leases require the tenant to insure the windows though.

Answer 5

It is the owners responsibility (I have both rented and been a landlord).....You are correct you only need contents insurance for your items.

If the landlord wanted you to pay the buildings insurance this should have been factored into the original rental agreement. If the property is a "buy to rent" then they could even be in breach of their own building society / bank terms for the mortgage on that property.

Answer 6

You need renters insurance that is all you can purchase.

No one can just walk into an insurance agency and get insurance without proof of ownership due to the fact that the original owner may have had previous loss and would pay a higher premium than what you would pay. So insurance companies want to make sure they are charging the right amount for that risk.

I hope you understand. It is complicated to understand or to even explain but dont let your landlord screw you over for any money you dont owe. If you damage the building in any way that is why you pay a deposit

Answer 7

You should have contents cover to insure your belongings, the landlord will have to have buildings insurance as part of their mortgage lender's requirements. If they own the property outright, then they're very foolish not to have buildings insurance

If the roof falls off for instance or the property develops subsidence, that's not the renter's problem, it's the landlords.

Answer 8

All you need is contents insurance. The owner of the property is liable for building insurance. He can incorporate this into the rent though, like a hidden tax. But he is liable for the insurance to be in his name, after all he owns the property, and is the one liable if anything should happen, like electrical fire, wall falling down, burst water line etc.. Tell him to check the laws. He's wrong

Answer 9

UK It is the Landlords responsibility unless they have made it a condition of your tenancy that you pay for building insurance

When you take out contents insurance you should check to make sure it covers Landlords fixtures and fittings. Items such as bathroom suits kitchen units, fitted furniture are all usually covered. Ask the broker of the company.

Answer 10

Same place you stand if you don't pay the rent.
Kidding. If the landlord never specified to you in the lease or contract(agreement) that you are responsible for building insurance. Then clearly he thinks it was assumed, which does not count. You are responsible for your own personal belongings if something got stolen. He is responsible for maintaining the building. If the dispute is over personal belongings that is your responsibility anything else is he's.