As a rental property owner in Suffolk County, it’s so vitally important to understand your responsibilities in the eventuality of major storms and natural disasters that can prompt extensive damage. This embodies knowing precisely how to handle the potential damage or ruin of your residents’ personal property.
Who is responsible for damage resulting from a disaster?
It’s a common misconception that any damage caused by a storm or natural disaster is totally the property owner’s responsibility. But fundamentally, both renters and rental property owners have liabilities in the matter of property damage. Determining these liabilities is a critically important part of being prepared for and recovering from misfortune.
For a case in point, numerous rental properties feature one or more large trees around the home’s exterior. If a tree on your rental property falls down during a storm and damages a vehicle belonging to a resident, whose responsibility is it to cover the cost of repairs? In this matter, paying for the damage is not your responsibility at all. Rather, the resident’s auto or renter’s insurance should cover the cost of completely restoring the resident’s car.
What about other types of damage caused by a natural disaster?
Floods, wildfires, tornados, and more are all potential events that rental property owners and residents may face on occasion. In the unfortunate event of a natural disaster damaging a rental property, it is the legal obligation of the property owner to see to it that the living conditions of the property are safe and habitable for the tenants. Over and above that, the property owner is, at the same time, financially responsible for assessing and covering the expenses related to the repair work required to restore the property to a habitable state.
Despite that, the resident’s personal property, such as for example, vehicles, the cost of transportation as a result of an evacuation, lodging, food, and other expenses are all the resident’s responsibility. As long as the property is properly restored to a habitable state within a short period, the resident may still be responsible for the lease terms. They must have a great renter’s insurance to cover needing, briefly and for the meantime, alternative accommodations, and to suitably protect their personal belongings in case of damage or loss. Effectively encouraging your tenants to do so may save you both an additional headache in the event of a disaster.
How to stay prepared as a landlord
As a landlord, it is pivotal to prioritize disaster preparedness. Possible disasters can seriously impact your rental properties and tenants. To make certain of the safety and security of your properties, ensure fulfilling a complete property risk assessment, obtaining suitable insurance coverage, and acting on preventative measures for example reinforcing vulnerable areas, securing loose objects, and setting up surge protectors.
Providing a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan and rightly communicating evacuation routes and emergency contacts to your tenants are pertinent steps. Implementing protocols for securing the property effectively contributes to proactive disaster preparedness, and at the end of the day, successfully safeguarding your rental properties and the welfare of your tenants.
At Real Property Management Landmark, we are committed to helping Suffolk County rental property owners like you navigate the risks of natural disasters and other weather-related incidents. Contact us online or call us at 516-522-2859 today to learn more in regards to how we can furnish you with the counsel and support you desire.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
