Are you going to rent a home? Then you need to consider some new responsibilities, just think about your tenant liability. But what exactly is tenant liability? And how can you get insurance for it?
What is tenant liability?
Tenant liability means that as a tenant you are liable for damage you cause your rental property. At the end of your agreement, you are obligated to return your rental property in its original condition – that is, the condition it was in when you moved in. This is checked on the basis of the place description, which was drawn up at the beginning of your rental term. The damage you cause to your property can, of course, vary in extent and, consequently, in price. Have you damaged a tile? Then it’s guaranteed to cost you a lot less than if there was a fire in your apartment. Unless you can prove that you are not at fault, you are liable for any damage caused to your rental property during your tenancy. So that also means that you have to pay for the damage to the rental property.
Tenant liability insurance
To save yourself from large costs due to possible damage, you can get insurance that covers your expenses: fire or home insurance. Such fire or home insurance covers your tenant liability. This means that the insurance will help take care of the financial consequences of a claim. In addition, such fire insurance also protects your own contents and covers not only fire damage, but can also cover water damage and damage caused by break-ins, lightning strikes, smoke and the like. Since 2019, it is mandatory for both tenants and landlords to have fire insurance.
An illustrative example:
You come home after a night out and find that you forgot to turn off the faucet before you left. The parquet floor in your apartment is badly damaged by the water, but your own belongings in the room were also damaged. In that case, fire or home insurance will reimburse both the damage to the floor for which you are liable and the damage to your own belongings. Usually, purchasing fire or home insurance is included as mandatory by the homeowner in the lease. There are a huge variety of fire and home insurance policies. Exactly what the insurance covers depends on where you purchase the insurance. No experience with insurance yet? The website www.verzekeringen.be has all the info you need on different types of insurance.