Today’s question comes from a reader who has Denver renters insurance. She wants to know,
I had some things stolen from my apartment but luckily, I have renters insurance in Denver, CO. Before I make a claim on my renters insurance and have the price go up at renewal, I wanted to know if my landlord is responsible for any of my personal property?
Great question, and one we see frequently. Although, people without renters insurance aren’t going to like the answer very much.
Is My Landlord Responsible For My Property?
In most ways, no. Your landlord is not responsible for the majority of things that happen to you, or your personal property. You signed a lease outlining your rights and responsibilities. In that lease, does it say that the landlord is liable for personal property of the tenants? Not in any lease we’ve ever seen, and we can’t imagine any property manager writing a document like that.
Why Isn’t My Landlord Responsible For My Personal Property?
Is My Landlord Responsible For My Property?
There are two reasons for that. The first is something called “insurable interest”. That simply means that in order to insure something, one must have an ownership or other interest in the property being insured. Obviously, your landlord doesn’t own your personal property, and he has no interest whatsoever in the disposition of that property, even in the case of a loss. As a direct result of the time-tested concept of insurable interest, your landlord may not and cannot insure your property, nor take any responsibility for the same.
The second reason is that residential space leased to you is, for all intents and purposes, yours for the term of the lease. You have possession and control of the property. This means that by definition, the landlord does not have possession or control of the property during the term of the lease. To put it a different way, you have the duty to mitigate risks to your personal property and your landlord does not. That being said, your landlord does have some responsibilities. For example, the landlord can and should install locks for you, but the landlord has neither the ability nor the duty to determine when the locks are actually put to use. That’s entirely up to you and if you go on vacation and leave the premises unlocked, you assume the risk involved in the same. Is a landlord responsible for your property? Absolutely not.
Colorado renters insurance protects against many of the risks to your personal property. It’s something every Colorado tenant from Denver to Boulder to Colorado Springs, should have. Without it, a loss could take everything away from you. Renters insurance in Colorado can turn major losses into minor inconveniences.
Contact Effective Coverage today at (800)892-4308 for more information on how to protect your personal property with a Colorado renters insurance policy, or click above for online renters insurance quotes and to start a renters insurance policy online!