Hazards
The Resident shall not undertake, or permit his/her family or
guests to undertake any hazardous acts or do anything that will
increase the development’s insurance premiums. If the unit is
damaged by fire, wind, or rain to the extent that the unit cannot be
lived in and the damage is not caused or made worse the Resident,
the Resident will be responsible for rent only up to the date of the
destruction. Additional rent will not accrue until the unit had been
repaired to a livable condition.
(Def. Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A, at 18 Apr. 29, 2005.) While tenants do not
specify which part of paragraph 28 they rely upon, the second and third
sentences of this paragraph deal with an issue extrinsic to the present case.
See generally Annot., Modern Status of Rule as to Tenant’s Rent Liability
After Injury to or Destruction of Demised Premises, 99 A.L.R.3d 738
(1980, Supp. 2004). That leaves the first sentence of the paragraph. Upon
examination, it does not exclude tenants from responsibility for fire damage
or obligate owner to purchase insurance, but it does require tenants and
their guests to refrain from any activity that will raise owner’s insurance
premiums. Tenants argue, however, that this clause is the functional
equivalent of an obligation for Northgate to provide fire insurance and vests
them with implied coinsured status.