Vandalism or Malicious Acts by Tenants Insurance—A Must-Have

It’s astounding the amount of damage they could cause in such a short amount of time, said Sean Fyfe, a young family man with an investment property in Saskatoon. According to an article that appeared in the National Post in 2015, Sean and his wife, Miranda, were left to tackle a huge mess left behind by renters in their Saskatoon home. They had to call on repair companies similar to https:www.adam-appliance.com as well as builders to undo the damage that had been done. They estimated that it would cost approximately $14,000 to repair the property and everything in it!

Every inch of the house is damaged in some way, reported Sean. The damage included broken appliances, doors were torn off frames, stained carpets, and unbelievably gaping holes in the walls stuffed with garbage and rotting food! To add insult to injury, all this damage was done to a freshly renovated home that had new paint and carpets, updated bathrooms, and brand new appliances. Damage like this will take a lot of time to completely clean up and restore it back to its former glory, that is why professional carpet cleaning Mesa services as well as other damage restoring services will be needed during times like these so that as much as possible can be completed.

Their insurance wouldn’t cover the damage, so the Fyfes reported maxing out their credit cards and investing much sweat equity to repair their home. We really weren’t in a position to afford something like this, said Sean.

This is far from the only horror story of this nature. Is there anything that real estate investors can do to protect themselves from a similar nightmare? Here are some essential tips:

1. Choose an insurance policy that includes Vandalism or Malicious Acts by Tenants coverage. Many insurance policies don’t include this coverage, but a few do. Review your current policy and ensure you have this essential coverage for real estate investors. As with all insurance policies, it is also important to understand what is and what is not covered under your policy. For example, there’s a differentiation made between vandalism and slovenliness. While actual physical damage would usually be covered under a policy that includes Vandalism or Malicious Acts by Tenants coverage, items such as abandoned garbage and overall uncleanness would generally not be covered.
2. Screen. Screen. Screen. This may seem obvious, but haphazard screening can result in unsavory tenants who leave unwary investors with a nightmarish cleanup upon leaving. Make sure you have a comprehensive rental application form and that you personally contact the former landlords, employers, and other references provided before renting your property out to anyone. Failure to thoroughly screen tenants could result in you having to take actions such as turning to either a locksmith Grand Junction
   or the police to get removal orders or the locks changed, should you take on tenants who cause vandalism to your property and do not pay their rent.
3. Conduct a move-in inspection with all new tenants and create a report. Does the report confirm the condition of the property prior to the tenant’s occupancy and makes any new damage the clear responsibility of the tenant.
4. Make regular visits to your rental property. Individual provinces will have specific laws regarding how often and under what conditions you can inspect a tenant home. Become familiar with these requirements and then make regular legal visits to your investment properties to ensure that all is in good order.

Enough can’t be said about taking the above tips seriously. Vandalism by tenants is a serious issue and one that continues to plague many investors. Just ask Yolandi Lombard, a frustrated landlord who experienced having a tenant occupy her property for three months without paying rent and then, after finally moving out, left behind thousands of dollars of damage. When problems like this arise, landlord insurance from companies like rogerbutlerinsurance.com should have been put in place previously so this could be financially rectified.
According, to a recent CBC report, the home was allegedly left in shambles: items including the fridge and microwave were missing, garbage was strewn around the house, and holes were punched in the walls. Lombard said I didn’t know people like this existed. I didn’t know that anybody would think it’s okay to treat anybody’s house this way.

Unfortunately, as this and similar reports indicate all too clearly, this type of tenant does exist, and therefore it’s essential that investment property owners are aware of the dangers and take steps to mitigate those risks.

Chris Westrop is the Commercial Insurance Manager at Park Insurance. HHeHe has over 25 years of experience in the commercial insurance business and is a Chartered Insurance Professional with the Insurance Institute of Canada and a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society. Chris is also a REIN member and a regular attendee of many REIN programs. He can be reached at (604) 659-3133 or cwestrop@park.ca.

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