The carport of my rental house collapsed during the last big wind storm and damaged the hood of the tenant’s car. The tenant is demanding that I pay for repairs and repainting. What are my responsibilities? Should I file a claim with my insurance agent?
You could check with your insurance agent to determine if this is a covered item. However, acts of nature such as a wind storm that cause property damage are usually not covered by insurance because there is no negligence on the part of the insured.
Generally a landlord is not responsible for damage to property of a tenant that results from unforeseen acts of nature. Tenants are responsible for providing their own insurance coverages for their own property. In this case, damage to the tenant’s car should have been covered by the tenant’s auto policy and/or by a separate tenant’s renter insurance policy.
Unless the tenant can show negligence on your part (such as faulty construction of the carport that posed a risk to others or property or that there was existing damage to the carport that weakened the structure) and that he notified you of the potential danger and you failed to address the issue, his claim of negligence would likely be dismissed in a court action. The tenant assumed any potential risk of unforeseen nature by continuing to park his car in the carport.