So I signed a lease with my landlord and it states I have to get insurance through a specific insurance agency and to list him as additional insured. Is this legal? Shouldn't he have home owner insurance for this? I am worried due to the fact he has already caused damage to my property. He destroyed my sons comforter. Never replaced it. I have come home and he has left spray paint all over my floor. He has also on my security camera allowed the other tenants of my building into my apartment and TOOK MY DOG OUT OF MY APARTMENT. He is threatening to either make him additional insured or I have to leave. I reside in the state of NEW Hampshire
Lender · Tyngsboro, MA · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Cassie, I'm a NH landlord. I believe he can require that you list him as additional insured. It is normally no downside to you other than some insurance companies charge a normal fee to add him. I think the bigger issue is his behavior, but that's up to you to decide whether to deal with it. I know there is such a housing shortage in NH that finding a new place is difficult. Good luck.
Real Estate Professional · Hayfork, CA · Member since 2015 · 231 posts · 212 votes
6y
Are you sure the landlord isn't asking you to add him as 'Additional Interest' which would mean he would be notified if your policy lapses or is cancelled?
@Cassie Kessie Your landlord can't just come in your apartment unannounced unless there is an emergency. While I'd be tempted to booby trap the place, your best bet is to tell him you have renters' insurance; but also talk to him about unauthorized access. Tell him you want the locks changed because you don't feel safe with people entering your property when you are not home.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
6y
Take the video to the police. I mean obviously you have video of the landlord doing this so you know it’s them and not someone else. I know most landlord love to enter unannounced and leave spray paint everywhere in the unit they own. They love risking lawsuits and jail so they can vandalize a comforter. At least most do.
I understand this is probably the best place you can get and really want to stay, so sign. Are you planning on making an insurance claim?
Ps. Your landlord doesn’t have homeowners insurance on the property. He has a landlord’s policy which will not replace one piece of your property. You need to have renter’s insurance to protect your stuff and the unit in case you, your son, or an unknown intruder damages it, so you don’t have to pay out of pocket.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
To answer your insurance question, naming the landlord as additionally insured doesn’t change your insurance (or his) at all. It merely makes it so he knows if you cancel it or if terms change. Or if there is a claim, his insurance and your insurance will work together depending on what the claim is.
Your landlord has landlord insurance that covers the property and liability. His does not cover any personal property (things in the house). Your renters insurance covers all your stuff, and some liability if a guest trips and falls.
If the property is damaged by a storm for example, the landlord policy covers the house, and your policy covers your stuff that is damaged.
Read up on your states landlord tenant laws. You want to ensure both you and him are abiding by the laws (and it sounds like he might not be!)
@Theresa Harris it sounds like the LL broke into her apartment and stole her dog??
i would be calling the police and then changing the locks myself since obviously the LL is a creep
I read it as the dog wasn't in her apartment when she got home, but waiting for her outside. But it could be that he took the dog. If that's the case, I would have called the cops long ago and be looking for a new place to live.
No, he was not asking to be additional interest. I had him listed as additional interest, that's when he called me flipping out and yelling at me. He came announced that day, but I never gave him permission to allow two different neighbors from the building into my home. I also never gave him permission to remove my dog either. The dog came back within a couple of hours.
To list him as additional insured would mean I am unable to file a claim against him, that I have to pay for whatever damages he causes here. I have lived here a year, going on a second had already signed a lease.
I have seen him cause allot of stresses among other tenants. My only question is it legal for him to make me list him as additional insured under my insurance?
Lender · Tyngsboro, MA · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Cassie, I'm a NH landlord. I believe he can require that you list him as additional insured. It is normally no downside to you other than some insurance companies charge a normal fee to add him. I think the bigger issue is his behavior, but that's up to you to decide whether to deal with it. I know there is such a housing shortage in NH that finding a new place is difficult. Good luck.
Rental Property Investor · Portland OR · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
I would call my insurance company and ask them. Here we do “interested party” as that just lets them know if the policy gets canceled. A landlord should not be additional insured. They need their own policies.
Investor · Broward County, FL · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 938 votes
6y
Some time a mortgage lender will require that the owner be additional insured on the tenant’s renter’s insurance. They may even require that the lender be also an additional insured on all policies.
Rental Property Investor · Portland OR · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
@Mike S. I am curious why that would be a requirement. Why would a landlord need to be addtl insured on a rental policy? How do they have any financial interest in the tenants belongings?
@Mike S. I am curious why that would be a requirement. Why would a landlord need to be addtl insured on a rental policy? How do they have any financial interest in the tenants belongings?
My understanding is not about the belongings but the liability coverage part that is usually included with the renter's insurance.
This is true, thank you for getting back to me. He has a very manipulative destructive behavior. it has gotten to the point that I have kept cameras up because of his behavior.