Commercial Landlord Responsibilities - Commercial Property Insurance Guides

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As part of our commercial property insurance video series this video looks at the responsibilities of a commercial landlord. Learn about the duty of care a landlord has to their tenants and also how the landlord can benefit from working with their tenants to make sure they also protect themselves.

Video Transcription

Hi, My name is Charlene Gohill and I’m an insurance advisor for Towergate Insurance

Today I’m going to talk about the responsibilities of a commercial landlord.

So, every landlord has a duty care to provide safe and well maintained premises. Your rental agreement will clearly state which responsibilities fall on the landlord and which belong to the tenants.

Now, each tenancy agreement differs but, generally, the landlord will have an over-arching responsibility towards: things like:

Fire safety, refrigeration, air conditioning and heating systems, asbestos, gas, electrics and communal areas.

A property owner also has a responsibility to third parties.

Property owners’ liability insurance can provide payments for compensation claims for damage or injury to a third party. This means someone being hurt or receiving a loss as a result of the property not being adequately maintained.

For example – if a delivery person takes a fall after tripping on a loose step in the entrance to the building. In a case like this the landlord could be held liable.

So what about changes your tenants make to your building and are you responsible for the insurance?

Say a tenant installs a new kitchen in your property; they paid for it, and own it, but won’t be taking it with them. As the landlord you have a vested interest in making sure it is protected as you also benefit from it, but as long as you don’t own it, you don’t want to pay for the insurance.

In this case you would work with your tenant to make sure they have it covered under their own business contents insurance.

The benefit of working with a specialist insurer such as Towergate is their knowledge and experience in risk assessment and management. They can work with you to protect your tenants, maintain your property, and meet your insurance requirements so there are no nasty surprises.

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Commercial Landlord Responsibilities - Commercial Property Insurance Guides