Property maintenance neglect by landlords revealed in insurance claims

Landlord InsuranceSimply Business, the biggest business and landlord insurance broker in the United Kingdom, has released data that showed that landlords’ tightening budgets are starting to affect their ability to maintain their properties, and that the number of insurance claims made for avoidable issues such as burst pipes, leaks, damage do to frost, and problems relating to wear and tear have risen by 5 percent since 2008.

This information was drawn from the claims made by more than 3,500 private landlords and indicated that the largest cause of claims is water damage. Since 2008, the number of claims relating to that issue have increased by 20 percent. That said, damage from water problems is one of the most expensive issues to repair, with the average incident cost sitting at 2,422 pounds.

Regardless of the powerful demand that is sending rent prices through the roof, the study data indicated that the worries about the future stability of the financial market in the United Kingdom and the overhead costs are causing landlords to tighten their belts on costs over the short term and are not proactively making reinvestments into their rental property maintenance.

There are currently 3.4 million privately rented households and it is very important that tenants and landlords work together to identify issues of water leaks and dampness so that maintenance can be performed before a larger problem is allowed to develop, which would require larger insurance claims.

The good news for landlords is that the number of other forms of claims have decreased, such as storm damage (which is 17 percent lower), accidental damage (which is 3 percent lower), and theft (which is 2 percent lower), though they remain among the most common issues.

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