Police damage to rental property

Interesting comments, but no one seems to have addressed the issue of whether the tenant has any responsibility to cover the loss, either personally, or through a claim against the police?

I would have thought that this should be an insurable risk?

Reply to the comment left by “John Frith” at “09/05/2014 – 10:51“:

Hi John

It probably is an insurable risk but unlikely to be worth claiming for.
.

Reply to the comment left by “John Frith” at “09/05/2014 – 10:51“:

For the tenant to have any liability, he must be shown to have somehow caused the damage.
I’m no expert, but it seems to me that this could only potentially be the case if he was at the property but refused to open the door. Not even sure if that would do.

I’m wondering if that could be added as a clause in tenancy agreement. It might.

Thanks for all the advice – If the tenant was up to something and the poilce had legally broken the door getting the money from the tenant would be protracted to say the least.
– I think (as we have had only phone correspondence to date with the police)
that we need to write to the police stating what we intend to do to recover the money if they cannot prove to us that their actions were lawful -and if they were we will have to pursue the tenant (which I suspect will be with limited success) We could give the tenant notice, although not the best tenant we’ve had they are not the worst either!

Turn this situation around. If you were in your own owner occupied house, and the door was smashed in at 0600 hrs, what would you do? Who is liable now?

Just curious.

We had the police and the fire brigade putting three sets of size 16’s through one of our properties on New Years day 2012 …. although that was to retrieve an unauthorised tenant who refused to leave and was threatening to burn my property down! I made the ‘authorised’ tenant pay for that one!

Reply to the comment left by “Howard Reuben” at “09/05/2014 – 19:31“:

Howard that’s a bit harsh. The nice homeless non-tenant was only trying to make a point 🙂

Its interesting that landlords maybe would lean towards evicting if there was a police raid even for a relatively minor offence but how many of us have tenants who are serious criminals and we have absolutely no clue what they might have got up to in say a 3yr tenancy. They could have been arrested charged and convicted of a serious offence and we may be none the wiser.

Reply to the comment left by “Jonathan Clarke” at “10/05/2014 – 00:53“:

U same as me Jonathon.
We just get on with it. Some of the ‘posher’ landlords would be aghast at what we see.

I’ve had murderers in my houses.
Back garden Police diggers looking for the guns.
Escaped Convicts.

Big trials on tv, have been some of my tenants, or the tenants fellas.
Not to boast about it, but to say, for some of us, it’s quite the norm.

Virtually everything u can think of.

Like u, I try to come to some deal where they pay off the door damage weekly.

🙂 How horrible of me to want to evict a ‘squatter’ who’s only point seemed to be that he thought his Xmas tree was worthy of burning – which he did taking my carpets, curtains and most of the room he was in with it! How very unneighbourly and inconsiderate of me to ask ‘his’ neighbours(young families) to evacuate their homes whilst we make the whole area safe again. Yes, poor little mite. I do hope he’s well and enjoying life.

I have always said that it’s their home, but my property. Most of my tenants have been with me for years, but as with all businesses we all have certain experiences to contend with and as my life is full of change on a daily basis (landlord as well as full time financial adviser and mortgage broker), so we learn to just get on with it and deal with ‘issues’ as they come along. I just wish certain issues didn’t come along at all sometimes though!