As a landlord, your top priorities are to keep your property occupied and ensure your renters housing needs are met. When catastrophic damage takes place, both of these priorities are put in jeopardy. Flood, fire, and storm damage can result in your renters having to leave the premises altogether. While fires and natural disasters don’t negate the lease agreement, it may require you to reduce or suspend payment until the property is once again livable.
In other words, it’s within your best interest to act immediately and get your property restored to proper condition.
Communicating with Your Tenants
If you have people living in the property, you’ll first want to confirm that they’re safe. Talk to them about next steps and assure them that you’re working on the situation. This is likely a very emotional and confusing time for them.
However, it’s also important that they understand what you are and are not responsible for. If the cause of damage falls under your insurance coverage, it will likely cover most (if not all) repair costs, as well as reimburse you for possessions you may have lost in the incident. That coverage does not extend to possessions owned by your tenants, nor does it cover temporary living situations for them, such as hotel rentals.
For that, they’ll need to use their own rental insurance policy.
Your insurance policy can potentially cover loss of rent due to the home being uninhabitable. It can also provide liability protection, should your tenants try to sue you. For full details on what your policy does and doesn’t cover, you should speak to your insurance agent.
Document Everything
In addition to speaking to your insurance company, you’ll want to document the damage yourself. While the insurance company will ultimately send a representative to survey the damage, it’s in your best interest to keep your own record. Take pictures of the damage to the property, as well as damage done to any possessions you might have had there.
For the sake of being thorough and helping your tenants, go ahead and document their damaged possessions as well.
Get Your Property Repaired Quickly and Professionally
Many landlords are hands on with the properties they own, taking care of maintenance needs and updates as they arise. Emergency repairs, however, are a very different situation. You need thorough, fast-acting repair services from people who know how to navigate insurance coverage.
In other words, you need a professional restoration company.
At Reliant Restoration, we’re available 24/7 to meet the needs of those who have suffered from sudden, catastrophic damage in the Miami Valley area. For storm, water and fire restoration in Springfield, Ohio and the surrounding areas, contact Reliant Restoration today!