What to Do When Your Tenant Drives Their Car Through Your Rental

We’ve all seen movies and TV shows of people backing their cars into their homes or swimming pools and even though these “nightmare scenarios” are fun to watch, the big question is what would you do if you own an investment property and that happened to you?

In this article, we will provide you with several tips you can use for navigating the complicated process of dealing with this potentially challenging situation.

Step 1 – Stay Calm When Talking with Your Tenants

Regardless of your tenant backed their car into your rental property, or drove it into the pool, the first thing you need to do in this tuition is to stay calm. This is vital because obviously, you want your tenant to know that you are concerned about their health and safety before anything else.

Once you’ve confirmed that everyone who was involved in the accident is okay, the next step is to make sure that the driver involved effectively communicates what happened then you must contact your insurance company.

Step 2 – Speaking with Your Insurance Company

During the process of speaking with your landlord insurance company, it’s important to clearly communicate the facts regarding what happened then get a timeline for the next steps that will be needed so that the repair work can begin.

In situations where your tenant’s vehicle was involved in the accident, it may be that the tenant’s auto insurance will cover all of the damages to your rental property but it’s best to start with your landlord insurance first so that you can cover all of your bases.

Step 3 – Where Does the Tenant Live During Repairs?

Let’s say that your rental property is a single-family home and only the living room was damaged, in this case, the tenant may still be able to live in the property while the damages to the property are being repaired.

What if the property needs major repairs and is uninhabitable? In this situation, the tenant will have to find housing elsewhere and their renters’ insurance or auto insurance policies may cover the cost of temporary housing.

Contact RPM Central Valley

To learn more about the property management services we can offer you contact us today by calling (209) 572-2222 or click here to connect with us online.