Landlords&tenant?
I've lived in Los Angels for more than 3 years, In the morning of April 24, 2006. A fire happened in the house where i lived. A lot of my things were gone. the ohters were taken by my landlord after that..All these happened to sudden and I was completely unaware of related knowledge about dealing with these losses. The Landlord always avoid me after that.
I want to konw if the landlord has the obligation to protect my
things that I lost at that accident..it may worth about $3000.
anyone can answer me,plz..thx a lot
Answers:
As a tenant, you should have renters insurance to cover your property. The landlord is not responsible for it. His homeowners insurance will only cover losses to his property.
No... your stuff that was destroyed in the fire is not the landlord's problem.
You should have gotten "renter's insurance" which sould have paid to replace your stuff.
not unless its in the contract i'm afraid
If he took anything of value then he has to reimburse you for that loss. Unfortunately, it's up to the renter to maintain fire/theft insurance to cover your other losses.
Can you prove that he took your items? If so, take him to court. It's called THEFT. Even after a fire, the items are still yours.
mrlandlord.com and click on California! wish you well my friend
If you didn't have renter's insurance, your stuff is gone for good. Your landlord is under no obligation to protect the things you lost. If you had renter's insurance, that should pay for everything in the house that was damaged or lost.
talk to a lawyer or let judge judy handle it--either way you will probably have to go to court
God Bless
yeah renters insurance thebest investment you can make when renting and its not expensive.Live and learn.
Sorry to hear about that.
Good Luck!
No, that is why you have renters insurance, or should have anyway. UNLESS you feel you can prove that the structure burned because of your landlords negligence. Was there some faulty situation that should have been repaired and wasnt? If that is the case, then you could possibly get something in small claims court.
You should have had renter's insurance to cover your stuff.
You needed renters insurance as mentioned above, but the things your landlord took he owes you. He stole from you. Just because there were some things left over after a fire it does not mean he can take them from you, they are still your belongings and they are still in the apartment you are renting. If he took anything of value and you can prove it, take him to a small claims court.
so what the other people are saying is that when your house burns down, anything that survived the fire is fair game? someone stole your stuff!! thats looting
No, the landlord is not responsible for your losses. That is what renter's insurance is for.
If there was enough water/smoke damage it may have easily been the case that your property was not salvageable. Were you present after the fire to protect your belongings?
Unless the fire was due to negligence on your landlord's part - there is no recourse for you.
Unless you have renter's insurance, you are probably out of luck. If you know your landlord took stuff of yours you could sue him but it will be up to you to prove he took your belongings. good luck
People just can't take responsibility for their own anymore can they?
I am only 99% sure on this one, so you may need to check with a professional, like an attorney. I no longer live in California, but my mother owned a house in CA which she rented for a very long time, so I know how things used to be. The only real change would be if there has been a change in CA state law, and on this particular matter, I don't think there has been, but that's why you should check, just in case.
A landlord is responsible for everything which is in the home when you move in. That includes the structure itself, the yard, the sidewalks, and any large appliances which may be in the home, such as a refrigerator or central air conditioning unit. The structure itself includes all of the structural elements like windows, floors and walls, as well as things like carpeting and drapes or blinds. Also, if you rented it furnished, the landlord is resposible for the furniture which was there when you moved in. By law, landlords are responsible for maintaining property insurance on the items I listed above. If they are paying on a mortgage loan on the property, then they have to have insurance, as a mortgage company won't let you have a mortgage without it. If the house was already paid in full, with no mortgage, he is still responsible for maintaining an insurance policy on it.
Everything that belongs solely to you and which you bring into the home is your responsibility. You should have renters' insurance, which covers losses from things like fires or earthquakes, and any damage your personal property might sustain during such a situation. So, if the TV, stereo, bedroom furniture, living room furniture and all kitchen things (except the large appliances) belonged to you, he is not obligated to reimburse you for your losses. All those thing should be covered by renters' unsurance, and if you don't have a policy, you are basically out of luck.
You say that there was property of yours taken by the landlord after the fire. I would imagine, since you don't mention it being returned to you, that your landlord kept it. Those items which belonged to you should be returned to you, or your landlord has to pay you for them, because they aren't his in any way. The fact that they were in his house when there was a fire does not suddenly mean they belong to him--they still belong to you, and you have the right to recover them, even if it means suing him for them in small claims court.
The only exception I know of is when there is a problem with something in the home, and the landlord is informed but does not fix it, and that broken item causes a fire. In that case, the fire was due to his negligence, and he may be able to be held responsible for your losses. But regular fires, which are usually accidents, are not covered by that. I am referring to something like a gas stove where the pilot light goes out all the time, leaving gas to leak in the home, and which then causes an accidental fire. The key is that the landlord must have received notice from you that there was a problem with something, and he must have ignored it or put off fixing it so long that it finally caused a fire. As an example, faulty wiring in the walls of a home are a common cause of house fires. Since the problems are inside the wall, most people are unaware that there is a problem. If you knew there was a problem, and didn't notify him so it could be fixed, you are responsible. If you did notify him, and he didn't have it fixed he is responsible. If no one knew about it, then each of you bears some responsibility which will be taken care of by your insurance companies.
Do try your best to get back the property which he removed from the house and which belongs to you. He has no right to it, and if you have to, you should sue him for it. That will mean filing in small claims court, but that isn't terribly bad or difficult. You will need a complete list of the items he took which includes both their value when they were taken and the amount of money it would take to replace them. The courts will usually not give you money to replace old property with brand new property, but you should have the list for a judge to look at to help him or her determine damages owed to you by the landlord.
The only other thing I can say is get yourself to an insurance agent and get some renters' insurance. Most insurance companies which issue car insurance also issue home and rental insurance, so you can probably just contact your insurance agent and ask about it. Generally, if you carry more than one type of policy with the same company (i.e. both vehicle and renters' insurance), you get a discount on your total bill. Many people don't know that you can get renters' insurance, so they don't bother with it. It is fairly inexpensive, but it is definitely worth the expense if it will reimburse you for large losses, such as those suffered in a house fire.
I hope that helps explain things for you, and I wish you the very best.
Absolutely not...your renters insurance should cover all personal losses.
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