Who is responsible for burglary repairs

It is all good and well knowing what to do as a homeowner but what if you are a tenant? Its not always clear who is responsible to repair any damaged caused by the burglars, such as the front door or the locks, is it the landlord’s responsibility or the tenants?

Being burgled is not something that anyone wants to consider happening to them, however its worth tenants knowing where they stand should they ever find themselves in this situation.

It can be argued that both tenants and landlords end up paying for damages caused by burglars, but here are some facts that you need to know.

Tenant’s Belongings

In the situation of a burglary the fist thing that will come to most tenants’ minds is, how will I replace my stolen belongings? In most cases it is the tenant’s responsibility to arrange their own contents insurance. Most landlord insurance policies will not cover tenants’ belongings. With this said it is worth checking the tenancy agreement to see if this is something that has been offered by the landlord.

If you as a tenant have got content insurance in place, then you will be able to place a claim with your insurer as soon as you have been given a crime reference number by the police. If there is any excess to pay it will be your responsibility as the tenant to pay as it is your own insurance policy.

There are some situations in which it would be the landlord’s responsibility to replace the tenants stolen property. For example, if the landlord hasn’t provided adequate security measures such as ensuring all locks are in good working order, the tenant can then argue that it’s the landlord’s responsibility to pay for any belonging that have been damaged or stolen during the break-in.

Damages To The Building

So, what about damages caused to the property itself? In most cases it will be the landlord’s responsibility however, there are a few scenarios in which the responsibility will fall upon the tenant:

First of all, tenants should check their tenancy agreement as sometimes terms will be written in there that would hold tenants responsible for things such as these. With this said this is rarely the case as most responsible landlords will have landlord’s insurance that will cover them for any damages to the property.

So, in the event of a burglary the tenant should provide their landlord with the crime reference number supplied by the police so that they can lodge a complaint with their insurance provider as soon as possible so that the landlord can claim damage repairs.

If the landlord does not have landlord insurance and there is nothing written in the tenant’s tenancy agreement that holds the tenant responsible for damages to the property, then the responsibility will still fall on the landlord to pay for the repairs.

The tenant can be held responsible for paying for the damages to the property regardless of what is in the tenancy agreement if they do not inform or provide the landlord with the crime reference number or copy of the police report.

If you are a landlord, tenant or homeowner and need burglary repairs, or lock upgrades to help prevent possible burglaries in the future then contact Acton Locks today – 01978 290 521