The fire spread quickly and most the tenants were without insurance. Now all they had to look forward to was salvaging burnt, wet and smoke smelling personal possessions. Then rely on the kindness of strangers and organizations like the Salvation army and red cross. The fire was accidental, careless (not criminal), a cigarette, candle, pot left on the stove, curling iron, it could be anyone of those things. Now all of a sudden tenants are left to fend for themselves. The insurance company for the landlord will only look after the building, the tenant contents and living arrangements are the responsibility of the tenant.
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Oh, and it gets worse, you know the tenant that “accidentally” caused the fire and put all those people on the street? Well they are now liable for all the damage. If they do not have fire insurance, that does not mean they will not get sued.
If they do not pay, a judgement can be placed against them. The judgement will follow them until it is paid or the rest of their lives. It could be years later and they want to get a mortgage, well too bad, until the judgement is paid.
Do not allow your tenants to get into this kind of situation. Educate them on why they need fire insurance. Do not let a tragic incident like a fire ruin the rest of there lives.
In most cases a tenant can get fire insurance for a few dollars a month.
I am going to end my post with some random links to examples of tenants getting sued that I gathered from a quick Google search on the topic.
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