If you were in the business of house sitting and you broke something who's responsibility is it to replace it?

Question

If you were in the business of house sitting and you broke something who's responsibility is it to replace it?

Answer 1

Legally, it is the responsibility of the person who broke it to replace it. Especially since you verbally contracted to watch the house.  

Answer 2

It's your responsibility - absolutely.

Answer 3

I had a sort of similar situation...My Realtor was showing our house one day, and when I came home after the showing, she was still there.  She waited for me to tell me that by mistake, she bumped a lamp and broke it.  She was very apologetic, and told me that she wanted to replace it.  I told her to forget about it, that is was not problem, and I didn't need her to reimburse me.  I think the fact that she felt so bad, and apologized so much, made me realize that the lamp wasn't really that important after all.  I would say that you are responsible for replacing it or reimbursing the owner for it.  But, you might find that the owner is more understanding than you think.  Unless of course you are asking this question because she was upset, and wants you to replace it.  In that case, I think you are stuck.

Answer 4

You broke it, you bought it.

Answer 5

Well if you purposely broke it then obviously you but if it was an accident then it would be common courtesy to replace it

Answer 6

You broke it, you should pay for it.  

Answer 7

If this is truly your business, then you should have liability insurance for exactly this type of event. If the item was not that expensive (less than the cost of your deductable), offer to pay for it out of pocket so you don't risk the chance of your insurance premiums going up.

If you don't have it, you should offer to pay for it out of pocket anyway. You could try calling your homeowner's or renter's insurance company and see if you are covered for item you may break at another person's home, but I sincerely doubt it, especially if they find out you do this as a business.

If it was an extremely expensive item, you could ask the homeowner if they could claim it on their homeowner's insurance and offer to pay the deductable. They may not be willing to do this, as every time you submit a claim, the insurance companies re-evaluate you as a risk and may increase you annual premium. Since you were the person who broke it, they may not be willing to take the chance that their premiums will go up.

Offer to pay for it and/or offer additional services free of charge to make up the difference.

Then get yourself some liability insurance. It will make you more marketable as a housesitter if you can present you can prove you are insured in the event of something like this happening again.

Answer 8

I would say you, unless they are very accomodating!

Answer 9

Well, if you are in the business, then you should have insurance that covers it.