Insurer demanding Deed of Surrender to pay loss of rent

fineman

Hi
  I have to have some building work done in the house I rent due to flood damage. The tenants will find themselves alternative accomodation for the 2-3weeks needed. My insurance policy covers me for loss of rent. However they say they need to see a "Deed of Surrender" before they will pay. This feels like overkill and doesn't accurately reflect the situation. The house can't be lived in (the kitchen will be entirely out of action and there will be a lot of noise and mess) but entirely surrendering the lease feels wrong and unnecessary. Is this normal in this situation? The insurer has told me a number of things that don't feel right over the past year so I'm not confident in them.

saajan_12

fineman said:

Hi
  I have to have some building work done in the house I rent due to flood damage. The tenants will find themselves alternative accomodation for the 2-3weeks needed. My insurance policy covers me for loss of rent. However they say they need to see a "Deed of Surrender" before they will pay. This feels like overkill and doesn't accurately reflect the situation. The house can't be lived in (the kitchen will be entirely out of action and there will be a lot of noise and mess) but entirely surrendering the lease feels wrong and unnecessary. Is this normal in this situation? The insurer has told me a number of things that don't feel right over the past year so I'm not confident in them.

Are the tenants finding their own accommodation and stopping the payment to you, or are you collecting rent in full and sourcing the alternative? The latter would be more common, as short term accommodation is usually more expensive at no fault of the tenants'. Does the insurer cover alternative accommodation costs too, not just loss of rent? 

If that's all your insurer covers (check your policy) then to make a claim you could sign a deed of surrender and subsequently sign a new tenancy agreement with the tenant starting a month later (or whatever).