Protecting your home and property when you’re a tenant
When you rent rather than own your own home, the division of responsibility to protect your home and valuables is a little less straightforward than if you owned on your own.
Landlords are legally required to do things like carry out an annual inspection of gas supply and gas appliances, along with the same for electrics and as the owner of the building will be responsible for securing buildings insurance on the property plus any additional landlords insurance cover they may want to take for any contents that they are supplying – namely furniture and appliances.
This means if there’s any damage to the home or building itself the landlord is responsible for paying and repairing it – if you have a problem with the roof, chimneys, guttering, drains or walls this naturally falls to their charge.
When it comes to securing your home and protecting your valuables, the rest is up to you – it’s your responsibility to make sure your most precious possessions are protected.
Contents Insurance
Getting contents insurance is the simplest way to protect your belongings in the event of damage, loss or theft. If you had to replace everything – for example, after a fire – contents insurance is there to cover the huge cost of replacing all your possessions. This includes items like:
• Furniture
• DVDs, CDs, books and vinyl
• Kitchen utensils; pots and pans, cutlery, crockery
• Electronics; TVs, DVD players, Laptops, Stereo players
• Toys, ornaments, antiques
• Clothes and jewellery
While it’s not required by any means, contents insurance offers peace of mind in case anything ever goes wrong. There are plenty of comprehensive policies out there that will also cover specific valuables and items that regularly leave the home – for example a bicycle, laptop or smartphone.
Increasing your security
If you feel your home could be more secure than it is now, first ask your landlord if they are prepared to help you upgrade security by changing or installing new locks and other security features.
If not, you could always consider making these upgrades yourself – just be sure to get permission and don’t throw away any property that belongs to the landlord if you change anything over.
It’s also possible to install your own simple security system – motion detectors, door viewers and small cameras are relatively inexpensive and can be added to your home without any major installation.
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