If it's uninhabitable, then you can request a refund for the days that it is uninhabitable.
However you are up for accommodation expenses, unless you can prove that the landlord / their agent knew that the HWS was about to blow and they did nothing about it.
Contents insurance may have insurance to cover the extra accommodation fees, due to this unforeseen situation.
How many tenants have contents insurance though?
I would request that the landlord claim on their contents insurance and use that to repay the tenants' expenses.
If you want a realistic answer, everyone renting should have contents insurance when renting for exactly this situation or something like a pipe bursting and their stuff being destroyed.
I can. I'm on low income and make sacrifices to ensure I have my insurance. If I didn't and something happened to my house like a fire for instance I sure as hell couldn't afford to unexpectedly replace all of my contents as well as pay for accommodation. So to sacrifice a few non-essentials (bye bye tv subscriptions etc) to ensure I can keep my contents insured is a no-brainer.
I agree, get contents insurance even when renting - when we got flooded my brother and I lost most of our stuff ( only bedroom stuff as bedrooms downstairs) .I was insured. he wasn't... I got put up in a motel and all my stuff replaced at value
Can I ask who you're with? I'm on $32k a year and I haven't found a rental contents insurer with rates I can make sustainably work on my budget, But I also know I'm fucked if anything were to happen to my stuff.
Unfortunately you'd need to shop around to see what coverages suits you best. Additionally there is too much factored into pricing to compare to someone else.
Every year I shop around and sometimes whoever was most expensive last year is actually now the cheapest too, don't hesitate to jump ship every year to save money but just make sure to check their coverage meets your needs (i.e do they cover burst pipes, accidental glass breakage etc).
Remember you can also 'buy down' tour premium with a higher excess. Personally I pay a higher excess to save more every year with the hope that by the time I claim I've saved more than the excess amount. But I never put it above what I could manage to get together (including borrowing from family in an emergency).
Contents insurance works out to about $10 a month per $10k of content you have. If you have 50k worth of stuff that you couldn’t afford to replace, then you can’t afford not to have the $50 a month contents insurance.
If you want specific items covered then yes it’ll cost more, but you can get most items replaced for under a grand each which is the typical limit per item.
Pricing is specific to the person (insurance and claims history), location, value, coverage, excess and many other things. Mine definitely doesn't work out to be $10/10k and falls into a range that makes it way more affordable for me to have coverage than to have to pull 50k from nowhere if I needed to replace everything.
Be realistic. If you say it's $10/10k is not worth it, do you put that money aside each month so that if something happened you could just pull 50k from nowhere? If not then you need insurance as a 'forced savings' in case something happens. As someone else states, it also covers liability so if you rode your push bike into someone by accident and they sued you, you won't be on the hook for every cent
Everyone I know who rents has contents insurance, including myself.
How could you not? If there is a fire or floor or burglary, you could lose everything you own in one hit.
The idea of that makes me feel sick!
Every tenant should have tenants insurance, and having insurance is often a condition of your rental contract. This insurance is mostly to cover your contents and your liability if you are at fault for damage to the property.
Landlords don’t hold contents insurance on rental properties. They only hold property insurance. And this is designed purely to cover the landlords expenses, it won’t cover the tenants expenses.
Do you have insurance? My policy covered for me to stay in a hotel for a few weeks after our place got flooded and needed repairs. (I was also renting) Good luck though, let us know how you get on (I did see your original post too)
https://alert.tas.gov.au/get-ready/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-9
Closest I could find for HW flood
Responsibility for insurance if you are renting your home
If you are a tenant, you are not covered by your landlord's insurance. Your landlord is responsible for insuring the building itself (including any fixtures such as light fittings, carpets, ovens and stovetops).
You will need to buy your own insurance policy to cover repairs or replacement of your belongings if they are destroyed or damaged in a natural disaster (see Fact Sheet 4: What it would cost you to replace everything you own).
About somewhere to live
In Tasmania, your landlord does not have to provide you with somewhere else to live or cover the costs of alternative accommodation for you if your home is not fit to live in after a natural disaster (unless this is part of your lease agreement).
This means that, along with paying rent for the home you can't live in, you may also have to find and pay for alternative accommodation, for however long it takes for your home to be repaired.
Having a renters insurance policy that includes cover for this expense is worth considering, especially if you don't have family or friends that are able to give you a temporary home. Check the inclusions or exclusions of your policy or talk to your insurer to find out exactly what you are covered for.
If your landlord contributed to the damage caused to your home by failing to properly maintain or repair it prior to the natural disaster, you may be able to claim the costs of having to move out while the property is not liveable. This could include the cost of hotels and storage, as well as rent. If you feel that applies to you, first ask your landlord to reimburse you for reasonable costs. If they refuse, you can lodge a claim in the Magistrates Court. For free advice about taking this step, contact the Legal Aid Commission at www.legalaid.tas.gov.au or on 1300 366 611.
About cleaning up
You are responsible for cleaning your belongings after a natural disaster.
Your landlord is responsible for removing debris and cleaning the property and fixtures if they have been made dirty by flood or fire damage
Depending on the state the LL insurance may be required to cover 3 or 4 days of emergency accommodation. You may need to pay for it first then get the money back in the form of rental discounts.
Went through this last year in Victoria. I did not have to pay rent for the time the apartment was uninhabitable (an insurance agent has to deem it so). Was verbally told my the landlord’s insurance agent they would cover accommodation, but later when seeking reimbursement, I was told the agent misspoke and that wasn’t something they covered (just the rent).
Thankfully our contents insurance covered accommodation and reimbursed us for nearly 11 weeks in hotels.
Check your contents insurance policy and/or get something in writing from the landlord. Good luck.
Edit to add: our hot-water tank was extremely old and it was a source of contention between us and the landlord (which is why I went to them for accommodation first). I had concerns, but they were never addressed until it had a massive leak and flooded our apartment and three floors below us.
I was under the impression that if a property is uninhabitable of course you dont pay rent and they pay for your accommodation until the repairs are complete. Call rentright they will tell you the for sure answer for free.
They have signed a contract to provide livable housing when that housing is uninhabitable its the owners responsibility to recoup the costs of accommodation for the tenant who would not have been displaced had the owner not broken said contract surely they are liable to pay for the accommodation costs since its their fault and why would you pay rent for a property that you cannot legally live in?
If it's uninhabitable, then you can request a refund for the days that it is uninhabitable. However you are up for accommodation expenses, unless you can prove that the landlord / their agent knew that the HWS was about to blow and they did nothing about it. Contents insurance may have insurance to cover the extra accommodation fees, due to this unforeseen situation.
No, this is where you reach out to your contents insurer to explain it is uninhabitable and request to claim for temporary accommodations.
How many tenants have contents insurance though? I would request that the landlord claim on their contents insurance and use that to repay the tenants' expenses.
If you want a realistic answer, everyone renting should have contents insurance when renting for exactly this situation or something like a pipe bursting and their stuff being destroyed.
Lol. Good luck in being able to afford that.
I can. I'm on low income and make sacrifices to ensure I have my insurance. If I didn't and something happened to my house like a fire for instance I sure as hell couldn't afford to unexpectedly replace all of my contents as well as pay for accommodation. So to sacrifice a few non-essentials (bye bye tv subscriptions etc) to ensure I can keep my contents insured is a no-brainer.
I agree, get contents insurance even when renting - when we got flooded my brother and I lost most of our stuff ( only bedroom stuff as bedrooms downstairs) .I was insured. he wasn't... I got put up in a motel and all my stuff replaced at value
Can I ask who you're with? I'm on $32k a year and I haven't found a rental contents insurer with rates I can make sustainably work on my budget, But I also know I'm fucked if anything were to happen to my stuff.
Unfortunately you'd need to shop around to see what coverages suits you best. Additionally there is too much factored into pricing to compare to someone else. Every year I shop around and sometimes whoever was most expensive last year is actually now the cheapest too, don't hesitate to jump ship every year to save money but just make sure to check their coverage meets your needs (i.e do they cover burst pipes, accidental glass breakage etc). Remember you can also 'buy down' tour premium with a higher excess. Personally I pay a higher excess to save more every year with the hope that by the time I claim I've saved more than the excess amount. But I never put it above what I could manage to get together (including borrowing from family in an emergency).
Well done.
Contents insurance works out to about $10 a month per $10k of content you have. If you have 50k worth of stuff that you couldn’t afford to replace, then you can’t afford not to have the $50 a month contents insurance. If you want specific items covered then yes it’ll cost more, but you can get most items replaced for under a grand each which is the typical limit per item.
Pricing is specific to the person (insurance and claims history), location, value, coverage, excess and many other things. Mine definitely doesn't work out to be $10/10k and falls into a range that makes it way more affordable for me to have coverage than to have to pull 50k from nowhere if I needed to replace everything. Be realistic. If you say it's $10/10k is not worth it, do you put that money aside each month so that if something happened you could just pull 50k from nowhere? If not then you need insurance as a 'forced savings' in case something happens. As someone else states, it also covers liability so if you rode your push bike into someone by accident and they sued you, you won't be on the hook for every cent
I think you misunderstood my point. I’m saying it’s definitely worth having contents insurance
My apologies! Too early in the morning and missed the word 'not' that completely changed the context 🤦♀️
The double negative wasn’t exactly clear either. Completely agree with your comment though
I have it for the liability insurance. I don't wanna stack my bike into a car, then have to pay $10K for the repairs.
Another great reason to have it! Some also cover pets (I e dog gets out and knocks someone over etc)
Why would the landlord have contents insurance for the tenant's stuff?
OP didn't ask about their stuff. Didn't even mention it.
You're not following the conversation properly! Keep up!
We rent and have contents.
Everyone I know who rents has contents insurance, including myself. How could you not? If there is a fire or floor or burglary, you could lose everything you own in one hit. The idea of that makes me feel sick!
the landlord wouldn't have contents insurance if they don't have contents inside the house.
Every tenant should have tenants insurance, and having insurance is often a condition of your rental contract. This insurance is mostly to cover your contents and your liability if you are at fault for damage to the property. Landlords don’t hold contents insurance on rental properties. They only hold property insurance. And this is designed purely to cover the landlords expenses, it won’t cover the tenants expenses.
Do you have insurance? My policy covered for me to stay in a hotel for a few weeks after our place got flooded and needed repairs. (I was also renting) Good luck though, let us know how you get on (I did see your original post too)
https://alert.tas.gov.au/get-ready/fact-sheet/fact-sheet-9 Closest I could find for HW flood Responsibility for insurance if you are renting your home If you are a tenant, you are not covered by your landlord's insurance. Your landlord is responsible for insuring the building itself (including any fixtures such as light fittings, carpets, ovens and stovetops). You will need to buy your own insurance policy to cover repairs or replacement of your belongings if they are destroyed or damaged in a natural disaster (see Fact Sheet 4: What it would cost you to replace everything you own). About somewhere to live In Tasmania, your landlord does not have to provide you with somewhere else to live or cover the costs of alternative accommodation for you if your home is not fit to live in after a natural disaster (unless this is part of your lease agreement). This means that, along with paying rent for the home you can't live in, you may also have to find and pay for alternative accommodation, for however long it takes for your home to be repaired. Having a renters insurance policy that includes cover for this expense is worth considering, especially if you don't have family or friends that are able to give you a temporary home. Check the inclusions or exclusions of your policy or talk to your insurer to find out exactly what you are covered for. If your landlord contributed to the damage caused to your home by failing to properly maintain or repair it prior to the natural disaster, you may be able to claim the costs of having to move out while the property is not liveable. This could include the cost of hotels and storage, as well as rent. If you feel that applies to you, first ask your landlord to reimburse you for reasonable costs. If they refuse, you can lodge a claim in the Magistrates Court. For free advice about taking this step, contact the Legal Aid Commission at www.legalaid.tas.gov.au or on 1300 366 611. About cleaning up You are responsible for cleaning your belongings after a natural disaster. Your landlord is responsible for removing debris and cleaning the property and fixtures if they have been made dirty by flood or fire damage
Depending on the state the LL insurance may be required to cover 3 or 4 days of emergency accommodation. You may need to pay for it first then get the money back in the form of rental discounts.
Went through this last year in Victoria. I did not have to pay rent for the time the apartment was uninhabitable (an insurance agent has to deem it so). Was verbally told my the landlord’s insurance agent they would cover accommodation, but later when seeking reimbursement, I was told the agent misspoke and that wasn’t something they covered (just the rent). Thankfully our contents insurance covered accommodation and reimbursed us for nearly 11 weeks in hotels. Check your contents insurance policy and/or get something in writing from the landlord. Good luck. Edit to add: our hot-water tank was extremely old and it was a source of contention between us and the landlord (which is why I went to them for accommodation first). I had concerns, but they were never addressed until it had a massive leak and flooded our apartment and three floors below us.
I was under the impression that if a property is uninhabitable of course you dont pay rent and they pay for your accommodation until the repairs are complete. Call rentright they will tell you the for sure answer for free.
It would be one or the other. You don't get free rent and accommodation paid for.
They have signed a contract to provide livable housing when that housing is uninhabitable its the owners responsibility to recoup the costs of accommodation for the tenant who would not have been displaced had the owner not broken said contract surely they are liable to pay for the accommodation costs since its their fault and why would you pay rent for a property that you cannot legally live in?
Depending on how long the contract is frustrated and lease terminated.