can i take my landlord to court? help me, please.

gilbert

the story is that i used to rent a flat on south circular road, dublin 8 about 3 years ago from irish landlord,my flat has been broken in by Burglar on 2003, my laptop,camcorder,cd player, two mobile phones and flight tickets have been stolen.(totally it worthed 4000 euro at that time)

i called gardai to help me when i was found my flat has been broken in by burglar,they came to my flat, but unfortunately they could not found any useful information to them, i was scared and horrified, and i did not know what i should do at that time,i just rang the landlord and moved out straight way.and nobody gave me any advice to deal with this situation.

and i am in college now.thus and my lecturer mention some case which is simlar to mine.thus i am just wondering that can i take my landlord to court.because he did not put any protection in the flat.(not even alarm).i am not sure that our flat has been insured or not at that time?


thus i would like to know whether i can take my landlord to court to against his insurance or him?what should i do?is there any time limitation for this kind of case?


thank you very much.

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

i would say you would have a good case.

wyndham

tenant is usually responsible for contents insurance. Did you have a lease agreement? The landlord does not have to alarm the property.

The_Conductor

There would be an onus on the landlord to ensure the property is habitable and that he is complying with current (or past in this case) legislation/regulations governing tenancy. It would not normally be the job of the landlord to get contents insurance for his house, while some may do so, they would very much be in the minority. I am also not aware of it stating anywhere that a property must be alarmed. In general insurance can only be sold to someone who has an insurable interest in the item/event- so a landlord could have buildings insurance or may have contents insurance for their own possessions to cover replacement in the case of fire/theft etc. They would not have an insurable interest in your possessions though- while they may be covered on a general insurance policy up to a certain threshold- most policies will not cover electrical or computer equipment unless specifically stated on policies for example. There would be an assumption that flight tickets would be covered by travel insurance (in most cases airlines will simply re-issue tickets without difficulties).

Good luck taking your landlord to court- unless there are further factors that you're not telling us here, personally I would be very surprised if you had a case against your ex-landlord.

connundrum

smccarrick wrote:

Good luck taking your landlord to court- unless there are further factors that you're not telling us here, personally I would be very surprised if you had a case against your ex-landlord.

Agreed.

The only thing your landlord may be guilty of is failing to inform you that your goods were not covered (but you should have asked). It is your responsibility to ensure that your own possessions are insured - in the last place I was in I asked the landlord if he would specify my DJing equipment in his house contents policy, and I offered to pay the extra on his premium.

A landlord is not required to provide an alarm.

Lex Luthor

wyndham wrote:

tenant is usually responsible for contents insurance. Did you have a lease agreement? The landlord does not have to alarm the property.

I would be in agreement with this statement

aniascor

In the last place I rented, we had our own separate contents insurance. It is not the landlord's responsibility to insure your possessions - only their own.

Paulw

When I rented, I had my own contents insurance. The landlord only had the building insured.

There was no alarm either.

It's your responsibility to have your contents insured, and this would cover all your electrics. It would probably cost you as little as €100 per year.

gilbert

i just general seek some leagal advice.i am not sure about that.that's why i posted my case on the forum.i though that it is part of his responsbility to insure the flat/apartment or make sure his apartment/flat safty for tenant to live.thus i am not 100% sure if i am gonna take him to court?

gilbert

wyndham wrote:

tenant is usually responsible for contents insurance. Did you have a lease agreement? The landlord does not have to alarm the property.

i do not have anything with me at the moment.but i just feel a little bit sad about that case which happened to me.

gilbert

smccarrick wrote:

There would be an onus on the landlord to ensure the property is habitable and that he is complying with current (or past in this case) legislation/regulations governing tenancy. It would not normally be the job of the landlord to get contents insurance for his house, while some may do so, they would very much be in the minority. I am also not aware of it stating anywhere that a property must be alarmed. In general insurance can only be sold to someone who has an insurable interest in the item/event- so a landlord could have buildings insurance or may have contents insurance for their own possessions to cover replacement in the case of fire/theft etc. They would not have an insurable interest in your possessions though- while they may be covered on a general insurance policy up to a certain threshold- most policies will not cover electrical or computer equipment unless specifically stated on policies for example. There would be an assumption that flight tickets would be covered by travel insurance (in most cases airlines will simply re-issue tickets without difficulties).

Good luck taking your landlord to court- unless there are further factors that you're not telling us here, personally I would be very surprised if you had a case against your ex-landlord.

thus should i take him to court or leave it?i have no idea about that? as i undertood your opinionthat i should forget it?

gilbert

wyndham wrote:

tenant is usually responsible for contents insurance. Did you have a lease agreement? The landlord does not have to alarm the property.

i though that it would be his reponsiblity to insure the apartment/flat safty???am i right ?

EKRIUQ

Its not possible to insure something that you don't own, thus the landlord could'ent have insurance for your goods its up to you to have your own contents insurance.

The_Conductor

gilbert wrote:

thus should i take him to court or leave it?i have no idea about that? as i undertood your opinionthat i should forget it?

Unless you have some information that you have not told us, I wouldn't even consider taking your ex-landlord to court. It would be a waste of time and money.

Shane

Victor

gilbert wrote:

i though that it would be his reponsiblity to insure the apartment/flat safty???am i right ?

He is responsible for making sure it is safe. That, in the case of burglary would mean fitting decent locks and window latches.

Ensure = making sure
Insure = to provide for risks

aniascor

You were happy enough to live there for a given period of time without ever checking whether or not your possessions were insured. And, based on the queries you are posting here now, it seems that at the time of the burglary you didn't even ask the landlord whether there was any insurance you could claim from.

Now, years later, you are hoping to sue the landlord for your loss... Maybe instead you should learn to take responsibility for your own possessions and ensure that they are adequately protected, rather than looking around for others to blame and claim from.