The sound of wheeled suitcases in the stairwell: short-term letting has become an unavoidable topic in downtown buildings and in areas popular with tourists. The question stirs emotions and fills general meetings – this article, though, looks at it strictly through insurance eyes: what does the increased traffic mean for the building's risk picture, and what can the community and the letting owner do?
- From the building's point of view, short-term letting means more traffic and heavier use: more people, more moving in and out, more wear and more opportunities for damage in the common areas.
- The risk of the let flat itself is the owner's: standard home insurance typically treats commercial use differently – it is for the letting owner to arrange this.
- The community's room for manoeuvre lies in the rules: the framework inside the building is set by the organisational and operational rules (SZMSZ) and the applicable legislation – the insurance side follows that.
What does the building's insurance notice?
From the building policy's point of view, short-term letting mainly means intensity of use: more traffic in the stairwell and the lift, more frequent moving (broken glass, damaged walls), more strangers in the common areas (vandalism and security questions), and more guest-generated incidents – from a window left open to an overflowing bath. Such losses run through the usual covers – glass breakage, criminal damage, water ingress from above – and the question is more a statistical one: a higher claims frequency eventually shows up in the building's claims history and in its premium. In other words: the income from letting is the owner's, while the cost of a worsening claims record is shared. That is the honest basis for the conversation at the general meeting.
The letting owner's own responsibility
On the side of the let flat the picture is clearer: regular, commercial letting is a different risk from living in the flat yourself – standard home insurance policies typically treat this use differently, and may exclude it or attach separate conditions. It is in the letting owner's interest, and their responsibility, to declare the use accurately to their insurer and to arrange cover that fits the activity (damage caused by guests, liability towards guests and towards the neighbours). Where the neighbours suffer damage – water, fire – the line of liability points to the letting owner; the details belong to home insurance: lakas.biz (in Hungarian).
What can the community do?
Rules inside the building – a duty to notify, house-rule frameworks, possible restrictions – are the territory of the SZMSZ and the legislation in force at the time; this is a legal question, on which the building's lawyer gives the guidance, and different buildings may reach different solutions. The insurance side follows, with two practical tools: consistent documentation and reporting of damage (“we will sort it out among ourselves” flatters the statistics but not reality), and protection of the common areas – cameras within the rules, good locks, a prevention routine. The aim is not war but balance: transparent rules, clear responsibility – and a building that is well insured even with guests in it.
A question about your own building? Book a free 20-minute consultation →
