My tenant signed an agreement to take out and maintain fire, theft, liability and water damage insurance. She let her kitchen sink overflow and it caused a lot of damage to the apartment below. She never got insurance, what can we do?

There is usually no recourse for a landlord when a tenant does not obtain their own insurance even when it’s stated in the tenancy agreement. In your situation, you might have to claim it on your own insurance and ask the tenant to at least pay for the deductible since it seems she caused the problem. If she refuses to pay for anything then one of the options you have is to serve her a Form N5 based on the reason that she has caused damage to the property and is liable to pay for the repair costs, or in this case, your deductible. If she has caused other damages, they can also be included on the N5. I’m not sure if this is the way you want to proceed, but if so, you can obtain the form from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/

Skip to content