The Informed Investor: Airbnb, alterations and more

There’s more than enough complication in even the most simple landlord-tenant relationships- but increasingly there are more and more circumstances that require extra care.

Carolyn Parrella from Terri Scheer Landlord and Building insurance joined Steve Price to take a look at a few of them.

Airbnb: Many have found this disruptive short-stay platform an excellent way to generate an extra bit of income, but it’s vital to make sure your insurance has you covered before starting out. If you’re planning on listing your entire house on Airbnb, chances are a policy for short term letting is all you need. However, many people opt to just rent a single room whilst residing in the rest of the house. This is often more complicated and probably warrants a chat with your insurer.

From living to leasing: Landlord’s insurance is not home and contents insurance. It specifically covers you for circumstances that may arise from having tenants, such as failure to pay rent or damages incurred. This means if you’re planning on renting a property that was previously your own home, it’s vital to make sure you update the policy to prevent being caught out in a situation wherein you’re not covered.

Alterations: The state of the property market means people are renting for longer and staying in the same places longer too. An investment property to one person is a home to another, and with that feeling of home comes the desire to really make the place your own. If you’re a long term renter with aspirations of changing or altering the property in any way, it’s important to be open about this to your landlord. Simply going ahead could be a breach of lease, even if it’s something that on face value just seems like a simple improvement, such as a lick of new paint. As with everything, a good tenant-landlord relationship is king.

For plenty more on these situations and more, have a listen to Carolyn’s full chat to Steve in the player above and visit the Terri Scheer website.