Major storms and natural disasters can cause extensive damage. As a Catonsville rental property owner, you should know your responsibilities if your resident’s personal property is damaged or destroyed.
Property owners might think that any damage from a storm or natural disaster is their responsibility, but renters and rental property owners both have liabilities when it comes to property damage. Getting to know which liabilities are yours and which are covered by your residents is a vital step when recovering from disaster.
For example, several rental properties have one or more huge trees near the exterior of the house. If a tree on your rental property falls during a storm and damages a resident’s car, who is responsible to pay for the repairs? In this case, the resident’s auto or renter’s insurance will pay for the car repairs.
What about other kinds of damage caused by a natural disaster? Floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and other disasters are events that rental property owners and residents could face. If a rental property is damaged by a natural disaster, it is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that it is livable and pay for repairs if it is not.
However, the resident’s personal property, including vehicles, and the costs of evacuation like transportation, alternative lodging, food, and other expenses are all the resident’s responsibility. If the property is restored quickly to a livable condition, the resident may still be responsible for the terms of the lease and should have enough renter’s insurance to pay for temporary housing.
At Real Property Management Metro, we help rental property owners like you understand what your responsibilities are in the case of a natural disaster or another weather-related incident. Our property management services will help ease your mind about your liabilities and ensure that your residents are responsible for their share of liabilities. Contact us online or give us a call at 443-718-9832 to find out more and see what we can do for you.