Landlord Insurance

[jasmin26]

Does a landlord have to have insurance ? My friends upstairs neighbour has flooded her kitchen today, and my friends landlord has said its up to her to pay for the damage as the neighbour has no insurance. TIA

[Kathyan]

We had insurance when we let our house. I don't think it's compulsory, but in my opinion it should be.

[buildersmate]

It is the neighbour with no insurance who has caused the problem so it is the neighbour that your friend should go after for compensation - Small Claims Court?

No, I don't believe there is any obligation on a landlord to have insurance to cover damage caused by one tenant to another tenant's contents.

[jasmin26]

Thank you both for your answers .

[smurfchops]

The landlord pays for Building Insurance. The tenant pays for Contents Insurance. Not sure if this comes under Building or Content insurance !

[bednobs]

regarding what is contents and what is buildings - imagine you were able to hold your house upside down - anything that didn't move is buildings, anything that fell down in contents

[buildersmate]

Very good. Except that some fixtures are part of Contents, not Buildings.

[boxtops]

Anyway, if the neighbour flooded her kitchen due to her neglect (rather than a fault with the pipework) you friend should be claiming off the neighbour anyway, not the landlord. If she hasn't got any household insurance (which covers personal liability for negligence) then the claim is against the neighbour personally.

[buildersmate]

Which is kindof where we got at at 17:54hrs?

[boxtops]

Indeed, BM!

[tonywiltshire]

A Landlord does not by law have to insure a building but most do for the same reason that most people insure anything of value, if they have a mortgage on the property or let through an agent it may be a term that their property is insured, but not the possessions of their tenants whose responsibility it is to insure their own possessions.
I would advise your friend to make a claim on her own insurance, if she has arranged insurance, informing the Insurer of how the damage occurred, the insurer will probably wish to recover any payment they may make from the party who caused the damage. If your friend also has no insurance she will have to try to recover the cost of damaged possessions directly from the party who caused the damage as will the Landlord if he has no insurance and there is damage to the building.

[jasmin26]

thanks for all you replies. My friend rang the letting agent who rents out the upstairs flat and she was told that it wasnt their problem and she would have to pay for the damage to her property herself.Her neighbour says he has no insurance . She was going to ring her insurance company today to see if she should claim on her insurance but I havent spoken to her yet so not sure what they had to say.Thank you for taking the time to reply.

[vodkancoke]

I live in a ground floor flat. My neighbours upstairs had a leak in their shower and it has damaged the ceiling in my bathroom. They told me they have no legal obligation to pay for the damage and I was to claim my own insurance, which I did. I'm in Scotland and I don't know if the law differs to anywhere else but I would imgaine she will have to pay for it. If she has insurance herselff, it may be worth her while just claiming and paying the excess. I don't think it's compulsary for landlords to have insurance but I'm sure someone more knowledgable will have the answer!

[Peter Pedant]

BM and TW score ! at 17 54 or whenever

Claim off the naughty neighbour.

Anyone who said to me - Oh I am uninsured claim off your own insurance, I would cheerfully sue in the small claims court - a) because it is fun and b) they need punishing/education c) if you dont they will do it again.

which almost brings us to the delightful Desktop doesnt it ?

Jasmine, you dont live under Deskie by any chance do you ?