Becoming a landlord may seem like an excellent opportunity to bring in a valuable income that will allow you to live comfortably for the rest of your life, however there are many aspects to being a landlord you need to consider.
The very first thing you should know is exactly what type of injuries related to your property your renter will actually be able to prosecute you for. The simple truth is that at some point or another in the future, your tenant can get hurt while staying in your home. But this does not mean you're responsible and understanding when you are or aren't responsible can save you lots of stress.
One element to acknowledge is whether or not you had been aware of the damage which caused the injury to the tenatn. If you are an forward thinking property manager and hold normal inspections to find a dangerous defect that could trigger an injury to somebody then chances are, so long as the tenant hasn't informed you from the defect, that you are not accountable. However, it is still sound practice to have landlord legal responsibility insurance on hand anyhow.
Another aspect is the fact you have to actually be personally responsible for whatever caused the actual injury to begin with. For example, when they slip and fall due to an overfilled washer that they own, you can't be held responsible. The actual tenant is responsible for understanding that their property works and/or maintaining it in operating order.
Yet another thing that could make your renter rather than you responsible is how they are dealing with the property. They have to be utilising the furniture and and so on in the manner they are said to be used. A good example will be if your tenant had been using a flimsy seat to stand on to change a light bulb. If the seat breaks and they are harmed you are not responsible.
If you prefer a little more coverage you could find an agency that may provide you with extra landlord contents insurance to help you be even better protected by covering the items inside the dwelling. By choosing to protect yourself, you will be able to withstand any issues in the future that result from a tenant being injured or accidentally damaging your property.
