Legal Question in Insurance Law in Connecticut

Renting out unattached garage

Are there any legal issues or insurance coverage issues to renting out my unattached garage to some kids working on their vehicles?


Asked on 12/28/07, 9:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Erik Roberts Barber & Roberts LLC

Re: Renting out unattached garage

Yes.

First, by "kids" I assume you mean young adults. Do not rent to non-adults.

Second, if the garage burns down, who is going to pay the loss of their cars and tools? If someone is injured, who will pay? If the renters burn down your barn due to their negligence, what then? If you are using the garage as a business (renting it out) your homeowners insurance may deny your claim.

What if a delivery man trips over one of their tools and seriously injures himself? It's you who will likely be sued.

And don't even get me started about dogs. I defended a landlord whose garage renter's dog bit a vagrant. The landlord settled for 150k and then a jury awarded $825k against the renter. This was for a calf injury.

And what about Zoning? Renting to people with unregistered cars, or shadetree mechanics may run afoul of local zoning.

Yes, there are a whole host of concerns and you should really have a thorough lease agreement that covers every detail. This is not something to go into lightly just because it looks like easy money and the kids appear to be good people.

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Answered on 12/28/07, 9:55 am


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