Renter's insurance - Landlord Forum thread

Renter's insurance by Christian (CA) on March 1, 2012 @16:26

The homeowners association requires the owners to have a rental policy for their tenants.

Is it acceptable to get the tenant to pay for the annual premium?

Thanks,
CG

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Re: Renter's insurance by Bunny MAGIC on March 1, 2012 @16:54	[ Reply ]

I'm in CA and I require my CA tenants to have renters insurance, but I am not a part of a HOA here. If your lease does not currently require it, you cannot ask the tenants to pay the annual premium. You'll have to wait until the lease is renewed before you change things to require renters insurance. If you require it, make sure you are named as "other insureds" and get proof from the tenant that there actually IS current renters insurance. If you have a M2M rental agreement, then with proper legal notice, you may give notice through a Material Change of Tenancy and require renters insurance. Another option is to raise the rent to cover the annual cost of renters insurance, which may be as little as $15/month (it depends) when combined with an existing insurance policy, such as auto insurance. If you wish to provide renters insurance for your tenants rather than the tenants contracting for this independently as a requirement of their tenancy, make sure you raise the rent to cover this--proper legal notice given etc, of course. Really, it might just be easier if you raise the rent (with appropriate legal notice etc) to cover renters insurance and have it in place, through your own insurance company, for your tenants.

Re: Renter's insurance