Insurance is oftentimes considered a financial “necessary evil.” That’s because even though no one likes to pay any type of insurance premiums, when the time comes to file a claim, the benefits that are received are a welcome relief. So, as an investment property owner in Florida, are your tenants required to purchase renters insurance?
In a word, the answer to this question is no, tenants are not required by law to have this type of coverage. That being said, though, making the purchase of renters insurance a requirement in your lease(s) can help both you and your tenants to ultimately reduce potential out-of-pocket costs if something should happen to their belongings.
In fact, there are a number of reasons why you might want to consider requiring your tenants to purchase renter’s insurance. For instance, while this type of coverage can certainly ease the financial burden of replacing stolen or damaged items for your tenants, renter’s insurance can also help to reduce the likelihood of you, the property owner, ending up in court.
In this case, tenants who don’t have the financial backing of insurance protection might look for alternate methods of funding the cost of replacing their items – and one “strategy” could be to sue the landlord.
Requiring a renters insurance policy may also help you, the property owner, to weed out the not-so-ideal tenants. Here, for instance, if an applicant for your property says that they can’t afford to purchase the coverage, it could be a red flag that indicates other financial issues…including the ability to pay their monthly rent on time (or at all!)
Being a landlord can be a time-consuming endeavor – particularly if you own and operate multiple properties. So, if this isn’t your “full-time” job…or even if it is…you may want to consider lightening up your responsibilities by delegating them to a professional property management team.
By going this route, you can hand over a number of tasks, including advertising vacancies, screening potential tenants / applicants, and collecting rent, as well as responding to day-to-day and emergency maintenance issues.
If you own rental property in Orlando and / or in the surrounding Central Florida area, and you’re looking for an experienced property manager, give us a call today for more details on how making us part of your team is a win-win for everyone.