If you live in an apartment complex, your lease obligates your landlord to provide you with a safe environment. That includes providing you with proper locks, security cameras, and other measures that are intended to prevent crime from occurring at your apartment.
If a tenant suffers an injury or death as a result of a landlord’s failure to comply with this obligation, you can sue for damages.
Renters Insurance
If you live in a rental property, you have a right to safe and secure surroundings. If a careless landlord or property manager fails to take measures to protect you from danger, you may be able to file a lawsuit against them to recover compensation for your damages.
Renters insurance policies help cover losses caused by a number of common hazards, including fire, windstorms, theft and vandalism. They also provide liability coverage, which can pay for medical bills and legal fees if someone sues you after they were injured on your property.
Personal property is defined as items that you keep in your home, such as furniture, appliances, clothing, jewelry and electronics. Generally, renters insurance covers these belongings up to your policy limits.
The amount of coverage you get for personal property depends on several factors, including the value of your belongings and the type of insurance you buy. Creating a list of all your personal items can help you decide on the right coverage for you.
For example, if you have expensive jewelry or musical instruments that are worth more than $1,000, you might want to consider adding an additional coverage rider, called a scheduled personal property endorsement.
Liability coverage can also be added to your renters insurance policy. It can cover injuries and other expenses that are caused by you or members of your household on your property.
You may also have the option to add additional living expenses (ALE) coverage to your policy, which pays for a portion of your costs during a time when your apartment is unlivable due to a covered loss. This can cover the cost of a hotel room, food or laundry for a short period while you live elsewhere during repair or reconstruction.
ALE can be added to your renters insurance policy for an extra premium. You can find ALE coverage by looking online or by talking with an agent at a local insurance agency. You can also purchase a renters insurance umbrella policy for an additional premium, which provides higher liability limits and broader coverage.
Security Cameras
If you want to protect your apartment or home from theft, installing security cameras is a great idea. Not only do they provide peace of mind, but they also help to prevent a lot of different types of crime.
There are many different kinds of security cameras, and each one comes with its own unique set of features. For example, there are PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras that allow users to remotely control the camera’s movements. These types of cameras are usually more expensive, but they are often useful for preventing theft.
Another option is wireless security cameras. These cameras use Wi-Fi to transmit footage to a cloud server over the internet. This allows users to view their videos from anywhere with an internet connection.
However, there are some drawbacks to using wireless cameras. First, they don’t have a signal strength indicator, so they are susceptible to interference from other household devices like microwaves and cordless phones. Second, they have a limited transmission range, which is typically 300 feet (91 meters) in open space.
For these reasons, it’s important to choose the right type of camera for your needs. Some cameras are able to work with weak Wi-Fi connections, while others need an extensive Wi-Fi signal to work effectively.
If you’re not sure which type of camera is best for your needs, talk to a HTA Certified professional. They can help you to select the right cameras for your property and recommend the best place to install them.
In addition to cameras, you’ll need monitors to watch the recordings. Depending on your needs, you can get as many as three to five screens.
Ultimately, the number of monitors you need depends on the size and scope of your property. You can easily add or remove monitors as your security needs change.
Finally, you’ll need to decide whether you want your cameras to record locally or use cloud storage. This is an important decision, because it affects how long your videos will be stored for. Most cameras store their recordings for 30 days or less, but if you need them to be stored for longer, you can opt for cloud storage.
Theft
Package theft is a common problem that affects apartment buildings all over the country. It happens when couriers drop off packages of all sizes on doorsteps or in lobbies, and porch pirates take them quickly and easily.
In many cases, a package thief will leave the stolen goods behind when they flee. This can make it difficult to figure out who stole the item, but if you’ve got security camera footage of the incident, that may help you catch them and get the package back.
You can also consider asking your landlord or complex management to install video intercoms or security cameras that allow you to see who is on the property and what they’re doing. This can deter people from entering the building, reducing the chances of package theft.
Having a secure place to store your packages can also prevent theft. For example, many apartment complexes have lockers for residents to use when they receive a delivery, which provides an extra layer of security.
Another option is to have your package delivered to your work address. This can be a great way to ensure that you receive your deliveries at times when you’re available to accept them.
While this can be an expensive solution, it’s a much safer alternative than having your packages stolen from your home or apartment. Plus, it’s much easier to track packages if they’re sent to your office than they are to your home.
If you want to protect yourself against the risk of stolen packages, you can also consider getting renters’ insurance. This policy will reimburse you if your packages are stolen inside or outside of your home.
You can even check out the reputation of your apartment complex on openigloo, which will let you know how many other people are renting in the building and what kind of security measures they have in place. This could help you avoid the bad buildings and sign up with a landlord that prioritizes building security instead.
Eviction
There are many legal aspects and procedures associated with eviction, regardless of whether the eviction is a result of a landlord being foreclosed on or a tenant violating the terms of their lease. Even states and countries with similar laws and regulations can differ when it comes to eviction, so be sure to check the local laws.
The first step in an eviction is to serve the tenant with an eviction notice, which usually gives the tenant a certain number of days to either cure or vacate the property. If the tenant does not follow this timeframe, a landlord can file a formal eviction suit in a court.
During this period, the tenant is required to respond to the eviction notice and attend a hearing. At the hearing, a judge will decide whether or not to evict the tenant from their property.
If the landlord wins the eviction case, the court will issue a “writ of eviction” which is a paper that tells your landlord you must move out of your rental unit within 48 hours. If you don’t do this, your landlord has the right to hire a sheriff or constable and remove you from the property.
You can try to settle the dispute with your landlord and get it resolved, or you can go to court if you have a strong case against the eviction. If you do this, it may be possible to save your apartment and avoid the eviction process altogether.
Aside from saving your apartment, a settlement can also help you avoid the negative impact of an eviction on your credit rating. Evictions and other legal actions against a landlord will remain on your credit report for seven years after the action has been finalized, so it’s important to get them cleared up before they become a part of your credit history.
You can also ask your landlord to fix the problems you believe are causing you trouble with the rent, such as a damaged window or broken appliances. If your landlord refuses to make the repairs, you can use a legal complaint to get your landlord to reimburse you for the costs of the repair or replacement.