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The real estate market in many Canadian cities continues to stay hot, leading many to invest in condos to rent out, and that means a different set of insurance requirements for both the landlord and the tenant. Unlike usual home insurance, there is an additional party involved – the condominium corporation. This means that insurance protection is spread across three different policies.
To help you understand this, we will focus on two key topics:
- Whose policy covers what: commercial condo insurance, landlord insurance or tenant insurance
- What are important things to know when renting out your condo
Condo for Rent – Which Condo Insurance Policy Covers What
The following overview shows what insurance protection each policy typically provides. As a landlord, you need to make sure that your insurer offers these insurance pieces with enough coverage.
Covered | Insurance | Insurance | Insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common areas (e.g. hallways, elevators, recreational areas) | |||
| Building structure | (According to original design and construction) | ||
| Condo upgrades, improvements and fixtures | (Landlord may also be responsible for original fixtures, like countertops and floor coverings) | ||
| Personal liability (e.g. causing water damage to neighbouring units) | |||
| Premises liability | |||
| Contents | (Typically covering any appliances and furniture owned by the landlord and provided for use by the tenant) | (Personal and specialty property owned by the tenant) |
|
| Burglary from unit | (But limited condo upgrades, improvements and fixtures as well as landlord-owned contents) | (Tenant-owned contents) |
|
| Burglary from storage locker | (Landlord-owned contents) | (Tenant-owned contents) |
|
| Loss of use | (Optional lost rental income protection) | (Additional living expenses protection) |
|
| Earthquake damage | (Building) | (Condo upgrades, improvements and fixtures as well as landlord-owned contents and optional lost rental income) | (Tenant-owned contents and additional living expenses) |
| Total loss (e.g. building burned down) | (Building) | (Condo upgrades, improvements and fixtures as well as landlord-owned contents and optional lost rental income protection) | (Tenant-owned contents and additional living expenses) |
Four Important Things to Know When Renting Out Your Condo
If you are a landlord, there are some insurance requirements that you need to keep in mind when you are looking for a tenant.
- Tenant insurance for your renter: Your tenant should get tenant insurance with at least $500,000 of personal and premises liability protection.
- Condo contents: You can only insure landlord-owned contents you provide for the use of your tenants (e.g. appliances, furniture).
- Protection against loss of use: You should consider getting optional protection against lost rental income due to an insured peril rendering the unit as uninhabitable. This is protection that covers your lost income should your unit become un-rentable (e.g. after a fire).
- Regular visits: You still need to drop by in regularly to make sure that everything is ok, otherwise an insurer will not pay.
- Know coverage offered by each policy: Review and know insurance coverage offered by each po your commercial condo insurance (purchased by a condo corporation) and tenant insurance (purchased by your tenant).
Should you be searching for cheap condo insurance, either as a landlord or tenant, complete the form on the right and start saving on condo insurance today. You will have a chance to fully customize your policy so you only pay for what you need. You can also get your condo insurance quote here.