Do I have to insure my landlords place?

west side kid

Hello,

My landlord has given me a new rental contract and he wants me to pay for the insurance (Fire + liability + structural) on my apartment.

Is this standard practice? Or is she trying to pull a fast one? (I'm new to the country)

West Side Kid

Jumpy

fast one. I have rented many places in my life (7-8 at this point in ireland.) and have NEVER had to do this.

Walk away and find a better deal.

If you have to do something like this, the person is going to be very stingy in other ways.

west side kid

Jumpy wrote: »

fast one. I have rented many places in my life (7-8 at this point in ireland.) and have NEVER had to do this.

Walk away and find a better deal.

If you have to do something like this, the person is going to be very stingy in other ways.

Thanks for your advice.

Unfortunately, we paid a deposit and only recieved the contract last week. By refusing to pay this - will be lose our deposit?

Is it a big deal to sue for return of your deposit in this country?

Jumpy

I have never had to do that so I am not sure. Hopefully someone else here can advise. Best bet is to say that you have received advice from locals and that paying for the landlords insurance is not commonplace and you do not wish to do so.
I cant say what the landlord will do under the circumstances though.

dudara

Probably better suited to Accomodation & Property

Moved accordingly.

dudara

TheDriver

well if you don't pay for the insurance, you won't loose out if anything happens, its only contents you need to insure. Never heard of this before and also theres the issue that you will be insuring something thats not yours and you will not be the beneficiary of the claims if that occurs etc. Fishy. Don't see any landlord letting propeerty lie idle or otherwise uninsured

calex71

This landlord is a bloody joker!!!!

Do yourself a favor op and try to get out if you can. It's the land lords responsibility to insure their property and havecover. (not sure about your belongings though) As far as i know the landlord should have some kind of liability cover aswell, for example you get hurt due to some faulty wiring or something and then sue the landlord, they would be rightly screwed without insurance.

The reason many here wont have been asked to pay this before is most land lords would account for it in the amount of rent charged.

euphx

The fact is that you can't insure whats not yours.

The fact that this is an apartment also suggests that the apartment block management company would hold the buildings insurance (unless its a house converted into apartments or something).

Paulw

As a tenant, you need contents only insurance.

Any other insurance (structural, etc) is down to the landlord.

D3PO

you only need contents insurance for your contents. You cannot insure what you dont own so that stipulation would not legally binding.

coco06

Just tell her the insurance company wont let you insure someone elses property!

Dublin_Gunner

Its very common for a landlord to request you obtain contents insurance.

They will not be held liable for any damage or theft to/of your property.

So its for your own good really.

Though, technically, the structural / buildings insurance can be placed in your name, for the duration of your tenancy. The building is 'deemed' to be yours for the duration of your tenancy.

It works similarly to you having your own insurance while driving a rental vehicle.

You should not pay any deposit until seeing the contract. In fact, if you do not wish to rent there, I would request my full deposit back, as it was given outside of any rental agreement being signed.

Paulw

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Though, technically, the structural / buildings insurance can be placed in your name, for the duration of your tenancy. The building is 'deemed' to be yours for the duration of your tenancy.

Where did you get that from? You cannot insure something that is not yours. The building is never yours. You are simply a tenant, and have sole usage of the building. But, the landlord will still always own the building. It is the landlord's responsibility to get building insurance, never the tenants.

You never have to take out building insurance, and you can't take out insurance on something you don't own.

It is totally different to renting a vehicle.

D3PO

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Though, technically, the structural / buildings insurance can be placed in your name, for the duration of your tenancy. The building is 'deemed' to be yours for the duration of your tenancy.

It works similarly to you having your own insurance while driving a rental vehicle.

this is absolute rubbish. Comparing it to renting a vechile is ludacris :eek:

Paulw

D3PO wrote: »

this is absolute rubbish. Comparing it to renting a vechile is ludacris :eek:

Unless you're renting an RV or mobile home, I guess.

Otherwise, renting an apt is nothing at all like renting a vehicle.

Dublin_Gunner

Paulw wrote: »

Where did you get that from? You cannot insure something that is not yours. The building is never yours. You are simply a tenant, and have sole usage of the building. But, the landlord will still always own the building. It is the landlord's responsibility to get building insurance, never the tenants.

You never have to take out building insurance, and you can't take out insurance on something you don't own.

It is totally different to renting a vehicle.

You are over simplifying insurance there. And I wasn't comparing it to renting a vehicle - someone stated you cannot insure something you do not own, and I provided an example of where you can.

The insurance required depends on the type of property, and for what purpose the property is being rented / leased.

In most cases, the owner will provide buildings & a restricted contents cover, while you [tenant] are obliged to provide full contents cover.

You should also get insurance to protect against malicious damage to the property / fixtures & fittings. Otherwise the repair if these things can come out of your deposit.

Beruthiel

west side kid wrote: »

My landlord has given me a new rental contract and he wants me to pay for the insurance (Fire + liability + structural) on my apartment.

LOL! Cute whore is what he is.

The man probably has a mortgage on that apt.
In order for any bank to give you a mortgage, they expect to see the papers proving you have the apt. insured against everything so that the loan will be paid off should anything happen.
Therefore the apt. is already insured.

What he is doing there is pulling a swifty.
He's trying to get you to pay his insurance for him.
Tell him to take a running jump.
He is taking advantage of the fact you are not from here.
Point out that you know the above about all mortages being insured in Ireland.
That will shut him up.

The only thing you have to insure, if you wish, is your contents.

D3PO

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

You are over simplifying insurance there. And I wasn't comparing it to renting a vehicle - someone stated you cannot insure something you do not own, and I provided an example of where you can.

.

this is a property forum so im not going to get into the nuances of car insurance, but your oversimplifing.

It is impossible to insure somebody elses house. Ring any insurance company and you will figure that out.

grizzly

Hi OP,

One of the principles of insurance is insurable interest (You can't insure something if you don't own it!). I'd ask for the deposit back and get out fast. If he going to pull this on you now, there's sure to be more trouble down the road.

Have you signed a contract yet? Was this written into the contract if so?

Victor

west side kid wrote: »

Is this standard practice? Or is she trying to pull a fast one? (I'm new to the country)

I presume you saw an ad for €X per month - they can't turn around and say its €X + €Y (for the insurance). Thats false advertising and may be an offence.

No normal tenant in a residence is insuring the property or paying their landlord extra to insure it.

---

However, in the commercial world, it is not uncommon for the tenant to either directly insure the property or to refund the landlord for paying. FRI leases are exactly what they say on the packet - the tenant must Fully Repair and Insure.

A tenant does have an insurable interest in a property - if it burns down, the tenant will incur losses, often this is limited to just moving expenses and loss of stock / fittings, but could include loss of profit, e.g. a concession in a department store - if the store burns down, the tenant does have some rights.

The_Conductor

Further- if its an apartment- its actually the duty of the Management Company to insure the building not the landlord. OP- you are liable to pay for your own contents insurance- nothing more.

bk

Ask for your deposit back and run a mile, he is obviously a chancer.

If he gives you any trouble tell him you'll report him to the Private Residential Tenancy Board http://www.prtb.ie and The Revenue Commissioners *. That should get your deposit back quickly.

* Who wants to bet this chancer isn't paying tax on the rental property.

west side kid

Got really great advice here!!!!

My would-be landlady has retreated - and said it was an error by the letting agent.

This board is great and really prevented me getting ripped off big time

You rock :-)

godtabh

west side kid wrote: »

Hello,

My landlord has given me a new rental contract and he wants me to pay for the insurance (Fire + liability + structural) on my apartment.

Is this standard practice? Or is she trying to pull a fast one? (I'm new to the country)

West Side Kid

Structural and rebuild costs are covered under block insurance for apartment blocks which is covered as part of management fees.

Only insurance you should need is contents insurance