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Protecting Your Belongings in a Rental Home

A house, condo or apartment that you rent is as much your home as any property you own. However, it still isn’t your personal property exactly. Therefore, you might not be able to implement as full of a security system as you would in an owned home. Still, you want to make your rental as secure a place as possible, and there are ways to do so. While it will take some consideration, a few conscientious steps (often with the help of your landlord) will help you improve your rental’s security.

Why do rental homes need strong security systems?

Often, security is not precisely the first amenity that a prospective tenant looks for in a home. However, it should be.

The fact that you do not own the house you live in is immaterial when it comes to personal feelings of safety. You still have a right to feel protected in your home, and you still own all the possessions within the home, too. After all, if a thief were to break in, then they are not likely to steal the house, but rather your TV or electronics inside.

So, the question on everybody’s mind should be what can I do to protect my possessions within my home? Sometimes, there are things you can do yourself to give yourself a lot more protection. Let’s take a closer look at the best ways to build up your personal protection.

Step 1: Get Renters Insurance

No matter how many steps you take to protect your family and possessions, it is a basic fact that you cannot prevent every instance of theft, vandalism or any other property damage that might occur in your home. That’s why you’ll want to have renters insurance. It is there to protect you even when all you do to keep your home locked down can’t stop a determine predator from getting in.

Under your renters insurance, you will likely have possessions coverage. It is designed to protect you in case of unexpected or unavoidable possessions damage or losses. Since theft or vandalism usually falls into this category, then your renters insurance will usually cover these losses.

However, keep in mind that you will need to choose the appropriate policy limits to get the most beneficial possessions coverage for you:

• You must choose a policy limit that reflects the cumulative value of your possessions. This will mean appropriately appraising those items.
• Some policies will limit how much they will pay for items of value like jewelry, art or collectible items (no matter how high your total policy limit is). They might also pay for items based on their actual cash values. These are not items’ like new values. Rather they are the items’ used values.
• Policies will include deductibles, and any claims that fall below your deductible value will not have coverage.
• If you want to insure particular items, or cover your belongings against unique losses, like sewer backups, then you might need to add special endorsements to you plan.

Your renters insurance agent is in a prime position to help you choose the renters policy that is best for you. Therefore, if a break-in ever occurs, then you won’t have to feel totally alone in recouping your losses.

Step 2: Talk to Your Landlord

When renting a home, your landlord’s reliability is as much of a safety guard for you as any insurance policy. They are the person who is tasked with maintaining the home and ensuring the tenant’s best interests are met. Therefore, you should never hesitate to ask them a few security questions, such as:

• Have they changed the locks on the home since the last tenant moved out? Who has keys to the home? The landlord should be willing to change the locks with every new lease.
• Are there security devices in the home like burglar alarms, window or door sensors, cameras or motion-activated lights? If so, how do you program these systems?

Don’t forget, most landlords must give you notice if they or anyone else needs to visit your property (whether you are at home or away). However, always clarify how they will contact you if they need to enter the home. You often can refuse permission to enter in certain cases.

Step 3: Take Your Own Security Steps

Even if your rental home has a security system already, you can always do more to make it even safer.

• Ask your landlord if you can install privacy locks, cameras or other security sensors on the home. Often, your landlord will approve as long as you pay the expenses yourself and do not make major structural changes to the home.
• Consider buying a smart-home camera system. They can send live security videos of your home directly to your phone or computer. These cameras are often portable, so you can take them with you if you move out of the home.
• Hide your valuables in unconventional places (since thieves often know where to look) and never leave them on display. You can often invest in a safe. However, the safe you buy needs to be one that is strong and made of quality materials. An alternative to a safe is a safety deposit box, which you can rent from your bank.

• Photograph and document the value of important possessions. This can help with identification and insurance claim support in case of theft.

In the end, the more you do to keep your home locked, monitored and secure, the better you can prevent instances of theft or other property losses. A little investment up front can save you a lot of headaches later.

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