Back during my apartment days, I woke up one morning to the sound of a very loud truck right outside my window. It was being used to pump about a foot of water out of an apartment in the next building. During the night, a hot water pipe had sprung a small leak. That leak shot onto the cold water pipe right next to it. The cold water pipe melted, creating an enormous leak in the ceiling of one of the downstairs units. When the apartment manager asked the tenant why she didn’t call the emergency number when the water started coming into her apartment, she said that she had been asleep and dreamed that it was raining.

Basically, everything in this young woman’s apartment was ruined. I know, because it was all out on the lawn that morning. It’s bad enough to deal with having all your stuff destroyed, but what if you couldn’t replace it? You see, by law Texas landlords are not responsible for replacing or repairing tenants’ belongings. Simply put, the apartment complex had no responsiblity to reimburse the tenant for her damaged property, even though it was the landlord’s property that caused the damage.

The best way to protect your property is to purchase a renters policy. This provides coverage for your things while they’re at home or out with you. The cost is very reasonable. Depending on your address, you can purchase $15,000 of coverage for about $15 a month. So ask yourself: If you woke up and found that your bedroom had become a swimming pool overnight, could you easily pay to replace all your stuff? If not, contact us for more information about renters coverage.