Posted by Rich-CA on June 27, 2008 at 18:55:38:
on what the cause of the fire was. If she left a fry pan on the stove and that started the fire, I see no reason they could not get the claim past a judge. Most insurance companies will actually try and collect their portion of the payments from the person who caused the loss as well. They don’t try as hard as an owner might, but that does tell you the very reasonable position that if a person’s actions or negligence causes a loss, then that person (and nobody else) should pay for the loss. Its called personal responsibility.
Now, if the problem were faulty wiring caused by say a roof leak degrading the insulation inside the walls (I’m making this up to illustrate, I do not know if water can do this to wiring) and it results in a fire, then I would think its is not enforceable.
It would depend on the cause of the fire and getting the fire department to make a call on that will help defend your position if it was bad maintenance that caused the fire and not something controlled by the tenant.