What Happens if Your UK Rental Property Burns Down?

It is midnight, and you get the dreaded call. One of your tenants left a candle burning, and the property caught fire accidentally. Your property is severely damaged, and you are left trying to figure out what you need to do while asking yourself: what now?

If your UK rental property burns down, you’ll want to make an insurance claim, assess the damage, discover the cause of the fire, and then make arrangements with your tenants for a continuation of the rental agreement. 

This process involves a lot, and that is just a very brief overview. Throughout the rest of this article, I will go over all the other ins and outs of what must occur if the worst scenario happens. Read on to learn exactly what happens if your UK rental property burns down.

Contact Your Insurance Company

Depending on when you received the news about the fire, you may need to do a quick damage assessment ahead of time. Generally, though, the first thing you have to do in a situation like this is to contact your insurance company. 

Insurance companies deal with all sorts of disasters daily, and fires are one of the most common, unfortunately. With that in mind, they will surely be prepared to deal with your questions and concerns.

In addition, most insurance companies will have step-by-step instructions for you to follow to get started with the process of filing an insurance claim on the property. After all, that is what they are there to do: help you! 

Assess the Damage

Now that you have got the insurance company out of the way, it is time to do a more thorough assessment of the damage. Fires are somewhat unique in that sometimes they cause enormous damage, and sometimes it’s very minimal. This is dependent upon a number of factors, including how and where the fire started and how long it was left to burn. 

You will arrive at your property with or without your current tenants and simply learn what happened. This may be done with your tenants through a retelling of the events leading up to the fire and afterwards. It can also take place with the fire department giving their assessment of what happened. In any case, it’s better to always have the fire department’s assessment as well. 

Another thing to note is that when you are ready to assess the damage, it is very helpful to have an inspector trained to assess damages with you. Things that may not seem damaged to the untrained eye often have far greater issues than expected.

Outdoor Damage Assessment 

If possible, you will want to do a full walkthrough of the house with your inspector–both outside,  around the perimeter, and inside through whatever spaces are still accessible. 

You will want to start on the outside of the house to ensure that no major structural integrity has been compromised. The last thing you want is to enter a house and run the risk of it caving in as you are doing the walkthrough. During this time, be looking for structural damages, damages to exterior buildings such as sheds, and general safety hazards.

Indoor Damage Assessment 

If the property has a basement, you will generally want to start there once you enter the house. This will give you the best picture of whether or not the foundations of the property have been damaged and help present a picture of what the restoration process will look like.

From there, you will move throughout the rest of the house, first checking for any structural damage. Checking for structural damage is the most important part of a damage inspection. You will be looking for cracks, soot damage and so on. Remember that even if a wall does not appear to be enormously damaged at the moment, it can leave room for bacteria and moisture to weaken the structure over time.

Afterwards, you will assess the superficial damage to the house. While some areas here may look bad, the most important thing is whether or not the structural integrity has been compromised.

Communicating With Your Tenants

This can be a tricky situation whether a tenant feels like they are at fault for the fire or not. Sometimes, the tenants will feel terrible over what happened with the fire and will attempt to make up for the mistake in whatever way possible.

Other times, they will completely refuse to take responsibility. Unfortunately, you never know what you will end up with.

Of course, there are also times when a fire is not necessarily caused by a tenant, such as with electrical outlets shorting out. Whatever the situation, communicating with everyone involved is enormously important.

What To Discuss With Your Tenants

There are some key things you will want to make sure you discuss with your tenants, namely, what the continuation of the rental agreement looks like moving forward. 

You and the tenants will need to decide whether they will continue to live in the property and whether they will continue to pay rent during the time repairs are being made.

Of course, if the property is too damaged, the tenants will not have the option of continuing to reside there, but fires don’t cause much destruction in many cases.

From there, you will want to decide on a fair amount for your tenant to continue paying throughout the repair process. Certainly, you cannot expect them to continue paying the full amount, and it is important to pay attention to what the tenant needs as well as what you, as a landlord, need. 

A basic rule to keep in mind is to expect the tenant to pay a reduced rent based on the amount of damage the property has sustained. For example, if only one-third of the property remains usable, then you should not expect the tenants to pay more than one-third of the rent until the full restoration has taken place.

Who Is Responsible for Repair Costs?

While this is debatable, in general, it is the landlord’s responsibility to pay for repairs. 

If the tenant started the fire and there is proof that that was the case, then you can legally ask the tenant to cover some or all of the cost of repairs. However, this can again be a tricky situation depending on the type of people residing in the house. 

You may find yourself in a heated legal battle just for the tenant to cover the repair costs. In the end, it is up to you whether or not you want to pursue that battle. 

Final Thoughts

Losing a property to a fire is a scary situation to be in, especially as a landlord. However, it’s important to keep calm and follow the instructions laid out by your insurance company. Remember that, while this may feel like a catastrophic event to you, insurance companies deal with fires on a daily basis. 

Assess the damage of your property, both outdoors and indoors, and then talk to your tenants to find a reasonable solution. Remember, it might be the end of a property, but it is not the end of the world.

Sources

• Warren Restoration: The Fire Damage Assessment Process
• Cornerstone: Landlords – What to Do After a Fire at Your Rental Property
• Helix Law: What Are A Landlord’s Obligations To Their Tenants If Rented Property Is Made Uninhabitable By Fire Or Flood?
• Citizens Advice: Repairs – What are the Landlords Responsibilities?