Its mostly common sense what to do when you find you have been broken into first thing call the police to report the crim, then contact your insurance provider and call in a locksmith to carry out the necessary repairs, however, what do you do if you’re a tenant? Its not clear cut who is responsible to repair damage that has been caused by the burglars (Eg: the front door) The tenant or the landlord?
Being the victim of a burglary is not something that you want to think about, but it is a very real threat so it’s worth tenants knowing where they stand if they were to find themselves in this unfortunate situation.
It can be said that both the tenant and the landlord end up paying for any damage resulting from a burglary, but here’s what you need to know:
Tenant’s Possessions
In most cases the first thing on a tenant’s mind would be: How can I replace my stolen belongings? In most cases it is up to the tenant to arrange their own contents insurance as most landlord insurance will not cover this. With this said it is worth checking your tenancy agreement to see if this is something that has been offered to you. If you as a tenant have content insurance, then as soon as the police have provided you with a crime reference number you can contact your insurance provider to put in a claim for your stolen items. If the claim requires an excess fee, then it is the tenant’s responsibility to pay this.
In some cases, the landlord may be held liable for replacing tenant’s property, for example if the landlord hasn’t provided adequate security measures such as making sure locks are in good working order or hasn’t maintained common areas. In situations like this the tenant can argue it is the landlord’s responsibility to pay for any costs incurred because of the burglary.
Damages to Building
So, what about damage that has been caused to the property? In most cases the responsibility is the landlords. However, there are certain things that can make the tenant responsible.
In some cases, there are teams in the tenancy which will make the tenant responsible for such things, so it is worth tenants checking. This is not usually the case though as most landlords will have this covered in their landlord insurance, so in the event of a burglary the tenant should provide the landlord with the crime reference number provided by the police so that the landlord can claim for the cost of repairs through their insurance. If the landlord has no insurance and there is nothing in the tenancy making the tenant responsible, then it is still the landlord’s responsibility to pay for any repairs.
Other circumstances that place the responsibility of damage repair costs on the tenant would be if the tenant does not make the landlord aware of the damage or provide the landlord with a crime reference number then the landlord cannot be held responsible for damage, they were not aware of.
If you are a tenant, landlord or homeowner and need burglary repairs, or want to upgrade your locks and other home security measures to help prevent a burglary then contact No Shut Sure Lock today – 07702 752458