§17.8 - Insurance and Taxes

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§17.8 INSURANCE AND TAXES

Obligations of landlords and tenants for insurance and taxes are discussed in this section.

(1) Insurance

American courts are agreed that neither party has an obligation to insure leased premises except as required by the lease. If one or the other does insure and a casualty loss occurs, that party may retain the insurance proceeds and need not apply them to restore the premises. For a discussion of insurance clauses, see 1 AMERICAN LAW OF PROPERTY §3.75 (A. James Casner ed., 1952). In Washington, if the landlord is required to insure and does so, and there is a loss, but the amount of loss is within the deductible in the policy, the landlord is personally liable to pay for the repairs. Seattle First Nat'l Bank v. Mitchell, 87 Wn.App. 448, 942 P.2d 1022 (1997). If the tenant is required to maintain liability insurance for the benefit of the landlord and fails to do so, it may lose its claim against the landlord for a negligent act of the landlord. See Seabed Harvesting v. Dep't of Natural Res., 114 Wn.App. 791, 60 P.3d 658 (2002).

The Court of Appeals has held that, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a tenant is a...