Just got a roommate, a tree branch fell on his car, I rent a house &?

Question

The landlord doesn't know I have a roommate, or he would charge us more rent. The roommate only has liability on his car. The dent is pretty big. It is from a tree on the landlords property, I think. He said I should call the landlord and say he just stopped by (when the branch fell) & see if his homeowners insurance covers it, but he would have to pay a deductible. What should I do? I have renters insurance but I am pretty sure it only covers things inside, not the property since I don't own it. I didn't know my rommate was moving in with 3 cars when we agreed on him moving in, (he's planning to sell one or two, I guess). Before the branch fell he saw the trees were dead & unstable and still parked under there, we talked about it. What do you think?

Answer 1

OK, the landlord isn't going to be held responsible for this - and neither are you.  Just like, if the car was stolen while parked there, neither your insurance nor your landlord's insurance would cover it.

The ONLY insurance that will cover this, is if the car's owner has "comprehensive" coverage, which covers damage caused by falling objects.

You're not going to be able to prove that the landlord KNEW, for SURE, that the tree was dead.  It's almost impossible to prove.   You don't need to prove that it was dead, you need to prove KNOWLEDGE.

Answer 2

Renter's insurance, homeowner's insurance and landlord's insurance all have specific exclusions for damage to motor vehicles.  This is because damage to a motor vehicle is available for purchase on an automobile insurance policy. Insurance policies are written with exclusions like this to prevent people from "double dipping" or getting payouts from 2 different policies for the same event.  Since your roommate does not carry comprehensive coverage on the car then there is no way to get insurance to pay for the damage.  In cases where trees are dead, diseased or otherwise unstable and a limb falls and damages someone else's property it's very difficult to prove the owner of the land/tree is liable for the damage, whether the owner was notified of the condition of the trees in writing or not.  You can try to get the landlord to pay out of the goodness of his heart but if he's the type of person who will charge rent based on number of tenants rather than the true value of the apartment he's renting (I've never heard of that but maybe it's just not common in my area), he probably won't pay.

Answer 3

Usually the way it works to get insurance to pay for it is this, if you knew the tree was dead then you have to notify the landlord in writing that it is dead and he needs to remove it.  If you don't do this then the insurance company will not pay for the damage.  Unfortunately, most people do not realize that you have to do this so they end up paying out of pocket.  It's the same thing with a neighbors tree - if you notice it is dead and it could possibly cause damage to your property you must notify the neighbor in writing.

Answer 4

I think you might as well forget it.  You're deceiving the landlord and now you want him to pay?  Grow up.

Answer 5

i was a landlord for over thirty years..... you should have told the owner that someone else was living there with you.. and the circumstances... your friend is trespassing and the owner is not lible for the damages.. now if you had included this on the rent and  the landlord assigned a parking place then a different story.. there is nothing you can do.. you might get evicted.. i would suggest moving your friend and his cars somewhere else.. or you could have a court action for subletting without permission.. in any event no matter what the land lord is not responsible for the trees fallin on the car..

Answer 6

Homeowners will not cover vehicles.  If the damaged "item" can have a policy of its own ie:a car then it will not be covered.  If your car was stolen out of the driveway would it be covered on the homeowners, no.  It is the same thing with the trees, sorry.

Answer 7

Your friend removes dead trees for a living and he decides to park under a dead one? Good luck trying to recover anything. First you failed to inform your landlord that there are two people living in the unit. Then you fail to tell the landlord that there are going to be three (!) additional vehicles parked on the property. Plus was the spot under the tree a designated parking spot or was the vehicle parked improperly? You could try filing a suit in court, however you will have one h**l of a time proving your case.

Answer 8

I have to agree, you're already s******g the landlord. Now you want him to pay more, because the idiot parked under a dead tree? He has a deductible too, that comes out of his pocket.

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O you discussed it with the landlord. I thought you meant with the friend about parking under it.

Maybe you should bring up the fact that the tree, you have discussed before, damaged a friends car parked at the house. See what he says and go from there. Raise to much h**l and you might get yourself evicted and loose a reference.