Hotel apartment liability
Question from Joyce updated on 29th April 2016:
Currently I own an apartment in the CBD and it is leased out to a fixed tenant.
I have been approached by the hotel management company to join the hotel pool and receive the guaranteed rental return.
As I am new to this hotel management, I would like to find out what the situation would be if a hotel guest sustained an injury while staying in my apartment:
Who would be responsible - myself or the hotel management?
Could the tenant sue the owner?
Is there any insurance that I could take up to protect against third party liability?
Our expert Myles Noble responded:
You cannot be sued in New Zealand for causing personal injury. The Accident Compensation Act bars any such claims.
However, both you and the hotel management could, depending on the facts, potentially be exposed to a health and safety prosecution under the new health and safety legislation. Statutory liability insurance is available to meet any defence costs you incur in relation to that prosecution and to meet any reparation award that may be made against you, but insurance is not available to meet any fine that might be imposed.
Myles Noble is head of claims and earthquake response for Crombie Lockwood. He also holds various advisory board positions in the insurance industry.Search the Ask an Expert archive
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