3-family shared basement must have separate locked storage?

Question

3-family residential home with shared basement.  Access from backyard cellar door.

Disgruntle tenant claims to had 3k worth of stuff stolen from the basement.  Blame's it on other tenant's freinds.  Filed police report.

He say's im responsible because it's required to have separate locked storage area's in duplex or mult-family shared access basement.  He doesn't have renters insurance, and wants it claimed under my home owners insurance.

Thanks for any help or advice.  I can't find any info on this specific topic.

Uwe K. · Answer

Joe, why should he involve his insurance? Not his stuff that got stolen! I don't pay my insurance for tenant's junk in the basement (tenant's possessions may not be covered anyway), I pay it for idiot tenants burning down my house because they bypass the electrical meter.

There is no WI law that includes a storage requirement for any size apartment building, 1 through many. There might be a local ordinance in Port, but I would be extremely surprised.

In your next lease revision, just make it clear that landlord is not responsible for tenant's losses and tenant is advised to get renter's insurance. Then you can just point to it to end arguments early.

Account Closed · Answer

Craig,

Let your insurance company know about it before your insurance company call you and let your insurance deal with it because that what you pay insurance for.

Joe Gore

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

I have never heard of any rule.  I think your tenant is making up the theft or is possibly mad because they don't have renter's insurance.

Dave Carpenter · Answer

@Craig Schewe  I have a duplex in Milwaukee with a shared basement. Tenants have stored lots of stuff with no questions or complaints to date. What does the lease say.? That may be the best place to start. My lease had language about shared areas such as the back stairway being store at your own risk. A big piece is certainly good tenants.

Good luck!

Craig Schewe · Answer

Thanks for the comments guys..  It sounded crazy to me.  This whole basement robbery today is probally made up considering the tenant

Dan C. · Answer

I'm in Wisconsin too Craig, and I'm pretty confident that is not the case.  Pretty much all the duplexes and three units I've seen around here do not have separate secured basement storage.  Ask him his basis for this claim, but I doubt he has any.

Roy N. · Answer

Unless you have some sort of zoning or rental by-law mandating partitioned storage for each unit or you indicated there was private/secure storage, I cannot imagine how you would be responsible ... but maybe we'll both learn something new.

We have a couple of properties which have a "baby barn" in the back yard.  We use it to store supplies, lawn mowers, etc. and the tenants have access to store bicycles, skis, etc.   We are very clear that storage is common and that they have access to it at our pleasure.

All that aside, private storage lockers might be a good thing ... and maybe even garner you more rent,