Landlords losing sleep over malicious damage

‘‘Landlords will be reassured to find there's a gap between what they're most concerned about and the types of claims we see most often.’’

Concerns about malicious damage by tenants might be keeping landlords awake at night but they can now sleep easy.

The latest AA Insurance Home Survey interviewed 500 landlords throughout New Zealand.

It found almost 90 per cent were concerned that tenants might intentionally damage their investment property. That was closely followed by the possibility of missing rent payments at 88 per cent and drug contamination at 87 per cent.

Despite the concerns, AA Insurance says its most common type of landlord claim over the past 12 months to May 31, 2016 has been for loss or accidental damage to property. The average cost of insurance claims from landlords is $3000.

‘‘Landlords will be reassured to find there’s a gap between what they’re most concerned about and the types of claims we see most often; accidents that can happen in any home,’’ AA Insurance customer relations manager Amelia Macandrew says.

And while the main issue for landlords is physical damage to their property and loss of income, there’s a growing concern for contamination by illegal drugs.