Tenant Insurance in Mauritius: Who Pays for Fire or Water Damage?

Neither the Mauritian Civil Code nor the Landlord and Tenant Act 1999 requires a tenant to take out insurance. But the Civil Code presumes the tenant is liable for fire and damage that occur while they occupy the home, so without cover the bill lands on you. At Sicom, the optional “tenant’s liability” cover is capped at Rs 1,000,000 per occurrence and for the period.

This guide sets out who pays what under the texts for a fire, water damage or a cyclone, and what a tenant’s home insurance policy offers in return. For the wider picture of renting here, see our guide to long-term renting in Mauritius.

Is insurance compulsory for a tenant in Mauritius?

No, the texts do not require it. The Civil Code chapter on leases (article 1708 onwards) says nothing about tenant insurance, and neither does the Landlord and Tenant Act 1999. The only insurance duty you can face is a contractual one: if your lease has an insurance clause, that clause binds you, so read it before you sign.

No legal requirement does not mean no risk. The Civil Code splits damage between landlord and tenant in a way that, in several situations, leaves the cost with the tenant.

Fire: the tenant is presumed liable

Article 1733 of the Civil Code is blunt: the tenant is liable for a fire unless they prove one of three things. Either the fire was an accident or force majeure, or it came from a construction defect, or it spread from a neighbouring house. The landlord does not have to show any fault. It is up to the tenant to prove they had nothing to do with it.

Where several tenants occupy the same building, article 1734 makes them all liable in proportion to the rental value of the part each one occupies. A tenant who proves the fire started in another tenant’s unit is released, and the one whose unit it started in is liable alone.

The rule is different towards third parties, such as a neighbour whose flat also burns. Article 1384 provides that whoever holds the building where a fire started is liable to them only if the fire was due to their own fault or that of people they answer for. The text states that this protection does not apply between landlord and tenant, who remain governed by articles 1733 and 1734.

Water damage and other harm: who must prove what

For other damage, article 1732 follows the same logic: the tenant is liable for deterioration and loss occurring during their occupation unless they prove it happened without their fault. Article 1735 adds that they also answer for the acts of members of their household and of any subtenants.

So everything turns on the cause. A pipe that fails through age is the landlord’s problem: the landlord must keep the property fit for its use and carry out all necessary repairs other than minor tenant repairs (articles 1719 and 1720). The Code adds that no minor repair falls on the tenant when it is caused only by wear and tear or force majeure (article 1755). A tap left running, a badly connected washing machine or a window left open in a storm is the tenant’s responsibility.

If water seeps into a neighbour’s home, article 1384 points to “the keeper of the thing” that caused the damage, unless there was force majeure or the victim was solely at fault. Who counts as the keeper depends on where the leak came from. This is one case where a liability cover is worth more than an argument with the neighbour.

Proof is easier if the property was described at the start. Where an inventory of condition was drawn up, the tenant returns the property as received, apart from wear and tear and force majeure (article 1730). Without one, the tenant is presumed to have received it in good order as regards minor repairs, unless they prove otherwise (article 1731). A detailed inventory with dated photos therefore protects the tenant first.

Cyclone or destruction of the home: no compensation from the landlord

If the home is totally destroyed by accident, a cyclone for example, the lease ends automatically. If it is only partly destroyed, the tenant can ask for a rent reduction or end the lease. In both cases article 1722 states that no compensation is due.

In practice, your furniture, clothes and appliances destroyed by force majeure are nobody’s cost but yours, unless you hold a policy. The landlord’s insurance protects their villa, not your belongings; for what their own policy covers, see insuring a villa in Mauritius.

For an unfurnished let, the 1999 Act adds a protection: if a destroyed or demolished home has been rebuilt or repaired, the landlord must tell the former tenant through a bailiff, within 30 days of the end of the works and before letting to anyone else (section 30).

Furnished or unfurnished: what changes

The liability rules above come from the Civil Code, the general law of leases, and apply either way. What varies is the protection of the 1999 Act: it does not apply to premises let at a rent that includes furniture, board or equipment (section 3(2)(a)). Many lets offered to expatriates are furnished.

For a furnished let, the lease and its inventory carry more weight, because that is where you settle what the tenant must repay for breakages. For the landlord’s side of this exclusion, see a landlord’s remedies for unpaid rent. If you share the home, also check what the lease says about each occupant, as explained in our article on flatsharing in Mauritius.

What tenant home insurance covers

Two Mauritian providers publicly describe a policy open to tenants. Sicom says its home policy is for any householder, owner or tenant, and covers fire, cyclone, flood, burglary and accidental damage, among others. Its table of benefits also lists water escape among the covered perils. Tenant’s liability and personal liability are options.

MauBank offers a home and contents plan aimed at tenants who want to insure their personal belongings. It lists damage to third parties (for example a water leak into a neighbour’s property), fire, lightning, explosion and smoke. Temporary accommodation during major repairs is an optional extra.

These figures come from a Sicom sales document, which itself says the quotation is valid for 30 days and that the policy wording applies. Neither Sicom nor MauBank publishes a premium on these pages: only a quotation gives one, and it depends on the value of your belongings, the location and the home’s security.

Before you sign: five checks

• Read the insurance clause in the lease, if there is one, and the clause that splits repairs between landlord and tenant.
• Have a written move-in inventory drawn up, with dated photos, and keep it until you hand the keys back (articles 1730 and 1731).
• Choose a policy that covers both your belongings and your liability as a tenant: contents cover alone does not pay what you owe the landlord.
• Ask the insurer for the excess amounts, cyclone in particular, and for what the policy excludes.
• Report any loss to the insurer and the landlord in writing as soon as it happens.

To start looking for a home, see Westimmo’s page on long-term rental in Mauritius.

Sources and checks

• Registrar General’s Department – Code civil mauricien (articles 1384, 1719-1722, 1730-1735, 1754-1755)
• FAOLEX (FAO) – Landlord and Tenant Act 1999, Act 6 of 1999 (sections 3 and 30)
• Sicom – home insurance
• Sicom – e-Home table of benefits
• MauBank – home insurance