damage to rental property by guests

[Sx4]

Hello,
Would a renter's haftpflichtversicherung cover rental property damaged by their guests (guests are disowning the responsibility as they have no haftplichtversicherung).
(Incident: during a kids party, one of the kids threw a ball that damaged the roof and broke a plastic panel, which is a little difficult to replace DIY).
Thanks

[Franklan]

Hello,
[..]guests are disowning the responsibility as they have no haftplichtversicherung).[..]

Being liable but not having a liability insurance -> you're still liable. Simple as that.

Would a renter's haftpflichtversicherung cover rental property damaged by their guests

No, because the renter didn't do the damage and - as such - is not liable.

Well, the renter could claims that he/she did the damage, then the Haftpflichtversicherung would cover; However, that would be insurance fraud.

But now to something completely different: Was the renter asked (by the parents of the kids) to "guard" the kids? This would be a possibility to activate the liability insurance, as an insured individual made a mistake (not "guarding" them right) that led to a damage.

[Sx4]

Being liable but not having a liability insurance -> you're still liable. Simple as that.

I understand this, however, if they stop communicating there is no way (short of litigation) to go after someone, and that would be cumbersome and costly, wouldn't it be? Also in real world it would be hard to sue a school classmates parent and see them everyday at school. Granted the parents should own responsibility....but they are what they are, and sometimes it is not easy to only invite a few and now the whole group of classmates.

But now to something completely different: Was the renter asked (by the parents of the kids) to "guard" the kids? This would be a possibility to activate the liability insurance, as an insured individual made a mistake (not "guarding" them right) that led to a damage.

No it was a teenager kids party and they were playing with a ball that landed on the roof plastic panel. One thing to note is that it broke really easily as the panels are really old and seemingly appear cracked and brittle...so very little force resulted in the panel to crack and break.

[AlexTr]

Check to see if your tenants have renter's insurance. Renter's insurance should cover actions by their guests. Ours does

[Fraufruit]

I believe SX4 is the renter in this case. At least that is how I read it.

He/she has insurance but didn't cause the damage. It was a teenage guest whose parents don't have insurance.

[Sx4]

I believe SX4 is the renter in this case. At least that is how I read it.

He/she has insurance but didn't cause the damage. It was a teenage guest whose parents don't have insurance.

True

[bethannbitt]

I believe SX4 is the renter in this case. At least that is how I read it.

He/she has insurance but didn't cause the damage. It was a teenage guest whose parents don't have insurance.

True

I have dog insurance in case my animal damages something in my apartment, or elsewhere, or causes an accident. It’s not legally required, but it allows me to sleep at night. If these folks don’t insure themselves against a type of damage they are legally responsible for then they have to pony up, which is known as “self insuring”. It’s really not (Sx4)’s problem. It’s the problem of the folks whose kid caused the damage.

[Fraufruit]

I would get an estimate on repairing the damage and present it to the responsible party.

Hopefully, you have Rechtschutzversicherung in case you need to get a lawyer involved.

[Sx4]

I would get an estimate on repairing the damage and present it to the responsible party.

Hopefully, you have Rechtschutzversicherung in case you need to get a lawyer involved.

I am hoping not to get to the stage where I would need to involve a lawyer (nothing against Lawyers, really).

[Fraufruit]

Yes, of course if you don't have Rechtschutzversicherung. In that case, you would have to weigh lawyer cost against repair cost.

Have you even asked the parents of the teenager who caused the damage if they are willing to pay for it?

[bramble]

I wish liability insurance was legally compulsory. It doesn't cost all that much and saves a lot of hassle.

My neigbour upstairs caused a water damage in my flat, which amounted to ca. 1300 Euros, and lied that he was insured and also lied that he had reported the incidence to his insurance company. Turned out he wasn't insured at all. I involved my Rechtschutz insurance company and they told me to get a lawyer onto him and that they would cover the cost of the law suit. My neighbour ignored all their letters asking for disclosure of his financial situation until more than a year later a bailif was involved, whose letters he also ignored right up until the point that he was issued an arrest warrant. The threat of going to jail in the end encouraged him to disclose his financial situation, which revealed that there was no money to get from him as he is unemployed and is living off Bürgergeld.

Even though I didn't get the money I was entitled to, I had at least the satisfaction of stressing him out. He is an unsavoury character with whom I had clashed before due to his inconsiderate and aggressive behavour and permanent lying. Even the police have been here on occasion because of him. He's a drunkard and presumbly also takes drugs. He also beats up his girlfriends when he has one, which I have had the unpleasure to hear through the ceiling keeping me awake at night. I nearly called the police once because it was going on and on and I heard her screaming, but she beat me to it. They were already here.

Even though this isn't comparable to the OP's situation, it is an example of how much better it is to be insured for all eventualities. Peace of mind and power to act. My neighbour - 41 years old - probably thought a little old lady like me didn't have that kind of power. Now he knows - and keeps his distance.

My lawyer informed me that the case isn't concluded and will be picked up again in 2 years time. But I'll probably drop it and hopefully I will have moved by then.

[kiplette]

That sounds horrendous and I do hope you get to move somewhere lovely much sooner than the 2 years...

[bramble]

That sounds horrendous and I do hope you get to move somewhere lovely much sooner than the 2 years...

I hope so too. I'm on the waiting list for a flat in the Service-Wohnung compound (managed apartment for the elderly) right next door to the old peoples home, which is only a few minutes from where I live now and right in the town centre with all amenities nearby. My Hausarzt is just across the street. The village pond is just outside with benches all around to sit on. So fingers crossed. My mother lived there for a few years before she died, so I know it quite well.

[Krieg]

How old is the kid who threw the ball? Because there is another issue, very young kids are actually not responsible for anything and it might be the case that even the parents are not liable for anything if they were "checking" on the kid in a "reasonable" way, which could mean that just taking a look on the kids every 15 minutes is enough. So even if they had liability insurance, the insurance company might decide not to pay. Plus it was a birthday party so I assume the kid was a guest who you invited. Potentially you were the one who had to take care of the kid. I might be misunderstanding the situation, I didn't really understand what exactly happened after reading the thread.