Under a tenant homeowners policy (HO 4), which event would the policy cover the tenant's liability for damages to the building?

• A. Water damage from a burst pipe
• B. Theft
• C. Fire
• D. Vandalism

Answer: (C)

This question tests how the tenant’s liability coverage works under an HO 4 policy. The liability portion covers damage you cause to someone else’s property, so if you’re legally responsible for damage to the landlord’s building, the policy would help pay for those damages up to the limits.

Starting a fire in your unit is a situation where your actions cause damage to the landlord’s property, which falls squarely under liability coverage. The other scenarios don’t fit as cleanly: water damage from a burst pipe is typically treated as a property loss rather than a liability loss to the building, unless you’re at fault in a way that makes you legally liable for that specific damage; theft affects personal property rather than the building itself; and vandalism can involve intentional acts, which many policies exclude from the liability coverage. Therefore, fire is the event most aligned with the tenant’s liability for building damages.