Tenants and Illness

It’s probably not something that very often crosses the mind of the landlord, but especially around this time of year tenants can start picking up bugs and illnesses and that might affect the day-to-day running of your property.

Why should I worry?

A tenant who is long-term sick is likely to start having to take time off work. Usually employers are pretty sympathetic about illnesses and most larger businesses will have a good sickness payment scheme but if your tenants stop working, they might stop earning and ultimately they might stop being able to pay rent. Taking out Rent Guarantee Insurance is a good way to counteract this risk.

Can I do anything to help?

There’s a limited number of things you can do, but the first is making sure your property isn’t the cause of an illness. Damp and mould can be dangerous for people with respiratory problems so do make sure you treat anything at first sight and take any claims that your property might be causing an illness seriously – legally you won’t have much protection if you haven’t acted upon a risk that tenants have identified.

Disabled Tenants

If a tenant becomes disabled while residing in your property you may be obliged to make your property more accessible. The rules surrounding this are quite complex, and so if this is your situation, you’ll need to investigate seriously. There is some funding available, however, for landlords looking to make properties more appropriate for disabled tenants so do your research well.

Unfortunately, illnesses do strike tenants and very often there’s nothing that anyone can do about it. Covering yourself with Rent Guarantee Insurance is the best way to ensure that, even if your tenants’ work dries up, you’ll still be able to receive payments to cover your mortgage.