Students and young people are the most fond of shared accommodation, because it allows you to divide the cost of rent between each occupant to save money. To stay in good standing with the law, roommates must take out home insurance. What are the particularities of this contract? How much does it cost?
Regardless of their number, roommates have the same rights and duties as tenants. Among the obligations imposed is the subscription to a home insurance. Since the entry into force of the Alur law of 2014, this coverage is required whether it is a question of furnished or unfurnished accommodation. A certain number of guarantees must be included in the contract, starting with the civil liability guarantee which is usually associated with a “recourse from neighbors and third parties” guarantee. The aim is to allow third parties to obtain compensation in the event of damage to the accommodation which has spread to the neighbourhood. The contract is supplemented by the "rental risks" guarantee, the role of which is to protect tenants from the financial consequences resulting from water damage, theft or natural disasters.
Insurance companies also offer some essential options such as legal protection which provides support in the event of litigation or a property damage guarantee offering coverage for damage suffered on the tenants' own property. Be careful, a home insurance contract for shared accommodation has certain subtleties that it is imperative to take into account to avoid unpleasant surprises. It includes, for example, a so-called joint and several clause which engages the responsibility of the other roommates in the event that one of them fails to pay his share of the rent. A so-called termination clause also exists and gives the owner the right to cancel the lease following non-payment of the deposit or rent or in the absence of home insurance.
The subscription to a home insurance can be done individually or collectively. By opting for an individual subscription, each roommate then adheres to a contract in their own name and is free to choose their own guarantees. To avoid disputes following a claim, it is advisable to opt for membership with a single insurer.
In the event of collective subscription, the contract is signed by a single joint tenant whose role is to declare the other tenants so that they can also be covered by the contract. Note that this solution is only possible if there is only one global lease.
The cost of home insurance for joint tenancies is determined according to several criteria, including the surface area of the accommodation, the number of rooms, the geographical location, the value of movable property and valuables, the number of occupants, the profile of the insured or even the possible history of claims. On average, an apartment with two roommates located in Paris with an area of 40 m2 costs 135 euros to insure per year and 11 euros to insure per month.
If it is a question of a 60 m2 apartment located in Lyon and occupied by three tenants, the annual price is 174 euros or 14 euros per month. To try to obtain the cheapest contract, roommates have an interest in using online comparators which bring together all the offers of insurance companies or in carrying out online simulations with the websites of insurers, mutual insurance organizations or banks.
