Renters insurance???

Question

i need help...im going to end up in court with my management company who i rent my house through. please tell me..."IF" i did have renters insurance would they cover a $1000 TV that was damaged from the plumbers that they (the management co.) hired to come into my home and tear out a bathtub to replace it with a shower? the tv was blown from them jackhammering which caused the electric to keep going out in my house. the plumbers had to several times reset the breaker. so i called my management company and told them, all the sudden my tv wont turn on which was directly on the other side of the wall where they were working. they said they would have a great electrician come out to determine wether or not it was the plumbers fault. YES, he said it was. now the mgmt. do. has told us they will not do anything about it and thats why i should have renters insurance. im not understanding that if they send someone out to my house that damages my property how renters insurance would cover that. isnt renters insurance for like a major disaster...ie: fire, flood, earthquake and your property being damaged because of that? why would they cover the plumbers that did the damage? not to mention im in contract with a 3 bedroom 2 bath house and the plumbers also screwed the shower up so we've been without our master bathroom for 3 weeks. im refusing to pay rent this month. ive paid $1425 on time every month for over a year and they have the nerve to say i still owe $1425 with the loss of one TV and no 2nd bathroom. am i crazy or does this seem unfair to you also? does anyone know if i did have renters insurance would they cover the tv? since i wont pay my rent i know this is going to end up in court so im going to need to be sure its on them to pay for my tv, right?

Answer 1

Your renters insurance would probably pay but then subrogate against the management company & or plumbers for reimbursement.  You would have to pay your deductible. You may or may not get that back.  

Really the easiest thing to do is just pick up the phone and call your insurance agent and tell him/her what happened and take their advice.

If you sign a lease you have to pay the rent.  If you want to fight the management company you need to put the rent payment in an escrow account.  Call the Clerk of Courts office in the city where you live.  They can direct you to someone who can explain tenant rights etc.  

Answer 2

You need to sue the plumber for damaging your TV.

You need to pay your rent or else you will be evicted.

You still have one usable bathroom, so the place is habitable.

Answer 3

If you had renters insurance it should cover stuff that this.  Still you don't have the insurance so what does it matter.  Anyhow if sounds like its the landlords fault or possibly the contractors, but not yours.  

Right now you can either go ahead and find out the repair costs and then sue the landlord for the cost (in small claims court) and see what the judge says; or just forget about it and go get it fixed yourself (since suing the landlord would engender terrible feelings and may not be worth doing).

Answer 4

It is not up to your landlords to pay for your TV.  Yes, renters insurance would pay for your new TV. HOWEVER, since there was an electrical inspection done on your home and it came to the conclusion that it was indeed the plumber's fault- then it is on the plumber.  That is why they are insured!

There are rules to follow when you withhold rent as well.

1) Your house must be in an unsanitary condition or in an unsafe condition where you or your family could be harmed.  

2) The Landlord will be ignoring your requests to fix the problem after repeated attempts of communication from you.

I don't think, in my opinion those have been met.  You still have 1 operable bathroom and they are attempting to fix the problem. A loss of a television set is not unsafe nor unsanitary...and is not your landlords problem.

If YOU feel that you are living in an unsafe or unsanitary condition without your second bathroom...you MUST WRITE an informative letter to your landlord explaining why you are not paying your rent. Secondly, you MUST put the rent money in a bank account separate from your normal funds. Thirdly, you have to file for a constructive eviction at your local court house.  

Good luck.