Do Landlords Have To Pay For Fire Damage to Commercial Property?

3/24/2022 (Permalink)

Repairing a commercial property after a fire is usually more complex.

Do Landlords Have to Pay For Commercial Property Fire Damage?

If you own a commercial building in Mount Healthy, OH, you may be wondering if you have to pay for the cost of any fire damage to that space. As with an apartment fire, it depends on exactly what was damaged.

Structural vs. Personal Property Damage
The owner of a commercial building is responsible for any damage to the actual property. This includes:

• Plumbing
  
• Electricity
  
• Emergency restoration services
  
  

The tenant, meanwhile, has to pay for any damages to personal possessions such as furniture or electronics. The one exception is if the tenant can prove that negligence by the landlord led to the fire. In that case, the property owner may have to reimburse any costs incurred by the tenant.

Insurance
Thankfully, your company may not have to spend its hard-earned profits to repair structural fire damage to a building it owns. If you have premises liability coverage, your insurance provider should pay for most or all of the costs. Your company may just have to pay the deductible.

Responsibility for the Fire
If a tenant in a residential building actually caused an apartment fire, the tenant typically pays for the damages. The same is true for commercial building fires.
Your insurance provider will thus contact the tenant’s renter’s insurance company for compensation if it is believed that the tenant was responsible for the fire. If the tenant does not have renter’s insurance, your insurer may contact the tenant directly for reimbursement.
You may even want to put language in your lease agreements stating that any tenants that cause a fire to the building will have to pay your insurance deductible. This could save your company money.
Repairing a commercial property after a fire is usually more complex than fixing the damage caused by an apartment fire. With a good commercial property insurance policy and some help from experienced restoration professionals, the impact on your business’ profit margin will be minimal.