As a rental property owner in Salem, it’s focal to understand your responsibilities in the occurrence of major storms and natural disasters that can instigate extensive damage. This takes into account finding out 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 just the property owner’s responsibility. Truly, both renters and rental property owners have liabilities as regards property damage. Realizing these liabilities is a primal part of being prepared for and recovering from misfortune.
For instance, plenty of 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 breaks down a vehicle belonging to a resident, whose responsibility is it to cover the cost of repairs? Under this circumstance, paying for the damage is not your responsibility. But rather, the resident’s auto or renter’s insurance should cover the cost of totally 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 at times. In the unfortunate event of a natural disaster damaging a rental property, it is the legal obligation of the property owner to always see to it that the living conditions of the property are safe and habitable for the tenants. On top of that, the property owner is further financially responsible for organizing and covering the expenses related to the repair work required to restore the property to a habitable condition.
But however, for the resident’s personal property, namely vehicles, the cost of transportation on the account of an evacuation, lodging, food, and other expenses are all the resident’s responsibility. As long as the property is appropriately restored to a habitable state within a short period, the resident may still be responsible for the lease terms. They must have generous renter’s insurance to cover, for a short while, needing alternative accommodations and to safely protect their personal belongings in case of damage or loss. Prompting your tenants to do so may save you both an added headache in the event of a disaster.
How to stay prepared as a landlord
As a landlord, it is vital to prioritize disaster preparedness. Possible disasters can undoubtedly impact your rental properties and tenants. To ensure the safety and security of your properties, seriously consider putting into effect a thorough property risk assessment, buying full insurance coverage, and pursuing preventative measures such as reinforcing vulnerable areas, securing loose objects, and putting up surge protectors.
Setting up a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan and carefully communicating evacuation routes and emergency contacts to your tenants are substantial steps you can take. Properly establishing protocols for securing the property likewise contributes to proactive disaster preparedness, effectively safeguarding your rental properties and the welfare of your tenants in the end.
At Real Property Management Colonial, we are totally committed to helping Salem rental property owners like you navigate the demands of natural disasters and other weather-related incidents. Contact us online or call us at 540-595-7411 today to discover more as to how we can grant you the appropriate guidance and support you are searching for.
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.
