Should Apartment Have Liability Insurance?

12 years ago

I have just been forced to move from an adorable little apartment in the perfect part of town for me. After having lived in my unit for two years, I had the misfortune of falling on a very wet and slick patio floor just outside my front door and wound up with a badly broken ankle. The manager went INSANE and immediately began yelling that they didn't have any liability insurance because she had screwed up and let the policy lapse. And she flatly REFUSED to pay any of my medical expenses, which turned out to be considerable, or any other expenses resulting from my inability to walk for four months. She then started harrassing me constantly and threatening to evict me because she said I had too much stuff in too small an apartment, that my apartment was filthy, that I was a menace to the other tenants, and that I had an extra cat. (Actually, I did have an extra cat, which I took in from my best friend when she was dying from pancreatic cancer!) I lived that nightmare until I was nearly suicidal and finally got out of there two weeks ago. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

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Comments (3)

phidauex
12 years ago
Wow, that is one heck of a story. Yes, apartments are usually required by law to maintain insurance policies on the common areas.

In most areas tenants are strongly protected by law - there are strict requirements on insurance, reasons to evict someone, required notice, etc. You should absolutely consult with a lawyer.

Note that everyone's advice here may not be valid for you - landlord/tenant law varies a LOT around the country, though it is usually strongly biased to protect the tenant.
mike_kaiser_gw
12 years ago
You have a few issues going on here. The first is the slip and fall. Insurance protects the property owner but it would be up to you to prove that the landlord was somehow negligent. Assuming you prevailed in court and since the property owner didn't have insurance then you might be able to go after the assets of the owner. Depending how the business/real estate is structured there may or may not be assets to go after. That's what you talk to a lawyer about. There are time limits so if you want to pursue legal action, do it sooner rather than later.

As for the issues afterwards, my best advice is to put them behind you.
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kaye820
Original Author
12 years ago
Hello, all my friends,
Yes, it's a whacko story, indeed, and now I'm about to be sued for over $11,000.00 in damages to the apartment. The place was only 400 sq. ft., and to have damaged the place to equal that amount, I would have had to set fire and burned that wing to the ground. There's only one move for me at this point, which is to file a tort case due to physical injury and sue for physical and punitive damages. And this was NEVER my wish. I've only wanted to put this horror behind me, as I'm a very shy senior citizen who's greatest hope is to enjoy to the fullest my well-deserved retirement. My thanks to Phideaux and Mike for their kind comments, and may you all stay tuned, as something tells me this sh - - storm isn't quite over.
Oh, just a little more: I totally LOVE my new apartment! It's over 3 times the size and with all kinds of amenities, whereas before there were none! And had I mentioned that the teenie-weenie place didn't even have an OVEN? When I signed the lease, I asked the manager why no oven was installed, even though they did offer a "range-top." The leasing manager told me that an oven was a "fire hazard." My fellow Webbers, I'm completely unable to make up this "stuff." Are you getting an idea of the mentality of my opponents? Geez Louise, what a world we inhabit.