Out Of Pocket Landlord Rues Not Having Landlord Insurance
Landlord Faces Massive Bill After Rental Property Gutted By Cannabis Farm Fire
Out Of Pocket Landlord Rues Not Having Landlord Insurance
A buy-to-let landlord has been left kicking themselves as well as facing a massive financial headache after his rental property in Cardiff was completely gutted by fire.
The rental property turned out to have been being used as a cannabis farm and the unsuspecting landlord was left with a massive clean up and restoration bill because had not bothered to take out the correct Buildings or Landlord Insurance.
The rental property, in Cardiff, was owned by Berkshire landlord, Obi Ljeoma, who had owned the property for ten years and had not previously bothered with Buildings or Landlord insurance on the property.
The rental property in Cardiff had been rented to four tenants and the landlord was unaware of any problems as the rent was coming in regularly, and he had last visited the property some six months ago.
Firemen discovered the cause of the fire to be amateur electrical wiring bypassing the main electricity meter, they also discovered a large number of cannabis plants packed into the rental property.
Mr Ljeoma, who bought the property when his son was studying in Cardiff ten years ago, said: “I’d like to warn other landlords to keep a close eye on their properties, and get landlord insurance because you never know what could happen.”
Because he didn’t have adequate landlord insurance, it will cost Mr Ljeoma up to £60,000 to return the gutted rental property back to a habitable condition.
Spokesman for Legal4Landlords, Sim Sekhon said: “It is vital for landlords to ensure they take the right steps to protect their rental property assets, Landlord Insurance or Buildings Insurance is a necessity required by many mortgage lenders, to protect their interest in the buy-to-let property, and unless landlords want to suffer the same fate as Mr Ljeoma, who must fund the repairs himself, the cost of insurance should be factored into the annual expenses of renting out property as a business. Landlords should also conduct thorough tenant referencing on all applicants before granting a tenancy and make regular inspections to the rental property during the course of a tenancy.”
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