Home owners or tenants: Who gets robbed the most when break-ins occur? While statistics show that thieves will rob any level of affluency from poor to rich and everyone in between regardless of how you tally the stats, there is a definite skew in terms of who gets burgled the most when comparing people who own their house versus those who rent.
Most recent figures show that renters suffer break-ins almost 1.8 times more than home owners. Previously renters suffered 1.5 times more break-ins than home owners so the rate of rental home break-ins is going up when compared to owned homes.
Burglaries
in total dropped by 12% from 2017 to 2018 and have been trending downwards to a larger degree since 1993. Statistics show however than owned homes suffer fewer burglaries than homes that are rented. The FBI reports that the average cost of a theft is $2,799.
Rental Home Versus Owned Home Breaks-Ins
Here is a comparison from the U.S. Department of Justice comparing the number of break-ins per 1,000 households in 1994, 2001 and 2011 for both Rented Homes and Owned Homes.
| 1994 | 2001 | 2011 | |
| Rented Homes | 67.9 | 37.2 | 32.7 |
| Owned Homes | 43.9 | 23.7 | 18.3 |
As the statistics show, there has been a large decrease in the rate of break-ins from 1994 – 2011 and both rented and owned homes have seen corresponding drops. But burglaries of owned homes have dropped at a faster rate than burglaries of rented homes.
It’s likely that better and more cost effective home security alarms (rental and owned) have helped reduce burglaries. The increased proliferation of security cameras, doorbell cameras and an overall someone is watching you at all times society that we live in has, too. Even if you don’t have a security camera, there’s a chance that a suspect may be filmed leaving your property from a neighbor’s camera increasing the chance they get caught.
So why then are rental homes broken into more frequently than owned homes?
Rental Home Characteristics
Why would rented units be robbed at 1.8 times the rate of owned homes?
- Many people with keys: Rented homes may go through multiple tenants each using the same locks and keys and renters may not upgrade security themselves since it’s not their house. There may also be service providers such as electricians, cleaners, etc who also have a key for some reason. Some old tenants may keep their old keys that get into the wrong hands. And some landlords might be careless with key security or unscrupulous, too.
- Less desirable neighborhoods: Rental homes may be more likely to be in areas that are less desirable than many owned homes that are in safer areas. Rental homes may also be located in areas with higher crime rates. It seems unrealistic to think that a landlord would live in a cheap home and rent out their expensive home to someone else. The U.S. Department of Statistics report linked above also shows that the group of people experiencing the largest rate of break-ins are people in the lowest yearly income bracket, $14,999 or less.
- No security alarm: From the landlord’s perspective, it’s possible they also leave certain things to the tenants to take care of such as home security alarm. If the landlord adds a monitored security alarm to the home, it either adds to their cost or they pass the cost onto the tenant which may make the home harder to rent. The tenant also may not actually use the alarm if they didn’t ask for it.
- Profits first: A landlord – especially these days – may be having trouble making money on their unit as it is with a mortgage, falling rent prices and dropping house prices on top. The last thing they will do is add more costs even if it’s something important like security, new and better locks, etc. if they can avoid it.
- House reputation: People often frequently move in and out of rental houses. More people passing through the house over time means it’s possible that more people may have an idea how to easily get into the house and what’s available to steal. The house may get a reputation as one that is easier to rob within the neighborhood.
- Attitude: Not all tenants treat a rented home the way they would treat one they own and can get careless with security. And not all landlords quickly fix problems including security-related ones that can leave a home vulnerable.
Renter Discrimination
A home alarm seems like a smart choice for a renter especially since tenanted houses get robbed the most. In addition to renters not wanting to pay extra for a home alarm system on a home they don’t own however, there is another possible reason renters don’t get a security alarm:
Many alarm companies still require customers to sign a contract of 1 year or longer and if you have to buy the equipment, the sunk cost is even higher. For many renters, they rent a home because they can’t afford to buy one. Paying for a security alarm may be cost prohibitive.
And according to one major home security alarm company Think Protection which operates in the US and Canada, several of its major competitors discriminate (their word) against tenants, either refusing to sell renters their security systems or charging them more than home owners making the service even more cost prohibitive.
Renters may be somewhat transient and some companies are worried they may skip out on paying for the service especially if they don’t stay in the house for more than several months. At that point, the security company may lose money on the deal and it’s not worth their time.
Only 17% of homes have an active home alarm and it’s likely that in rental homes that number might be even smaller.
Renter’s Insurance
Renter’s insurance is taken out by the tenant to protect again things like theft of their property ie. clothing, jewelry, furniture, and anything else they own. It doesn’t cover the house itself as that’s the responsibility of the home owner/landlord.
Your landlord’s insurance will most likely not cover your property. It’s generally up to the tenant to take that out themselves and some landlords may require proof that you have taken out this insurance when signing a lease. It protects you in the case of theft or your property, among other things.
Property Insurance
Property insurance will be paid for by the home owner. This insurance protects the house and property. So if something serious happens like a fire or flood, their house investment will be protected.
This insurance will generally not cover the tenant’s property. That’s the Renter’s Insurance mentioned above taken out by the tenant.
Liability Insurance
Liability insurance can be taken out by both tenant and landlord. From the tenant’s perspective their liability insurance could cover them for liability that they are held responsible for if they injured a neighbor, their dog bit someone, or something happened within the house that they were held liable for. It’s possible you could be held liable if the house is burgled and landlord property is damaged or stolen and someone is injured due to your negligence ie. you left a door unlocked.
From the home owner’s perspective liability insurance can protect them from liability that the tenant was responsible for in case an aggrieved party goes after the landlord for something their tenant did. Sometimes people sue the people that they think have the money (and insurance) and a homeowner is likely to have more money and possibly more insurance than a tenant who rents.
Summary
Crime statistics show that while break-ins are actually going down since 1993, more recently the percentage of tenanted (rented) homes getting broken into is increasing when compared to owned homes. There are a number of possible reasons listed above as to why this is the case.
A tenant should take out insurance that properly covers them against theft of their property and liability that they may be responsible for at a minimum.