Additional Living Expenses (ALE) for Renters
If a covered loss makes your rental home temporarily unliveable, tenant insurance can include coverage for eligible extra living costs while you are displaced.
What does Additional Living Expenses coverage do?
Insurance Bureau of Canada says most personal property policies, including tenant insurance, cover alternate accommodation and additional living expenses when an insured loss makes the home unfit to live in. The exact amount and time period are governed by the policy.
The key idea is additional expense: the coverage is intended for eligible extra costs created by the displacement, not every ordinary household expense.
IBC — How to file a home insurance claim →Examples of expenses to ask about
Hotel, short-term rental or another eligible place to stay while repairs are underway.
Some policies may respond to additional food costs when normal cooking facilities are unavailable.
A temporary location may create additional commuting or travel expenses.
Some policies provide limited coverage when access is prohibited by civil authority, subject to wording and time limits.
Ask about ALE as soon as the unit is unliveable
IBC recommends contacting the insurer promptly after a loss and asking whether Additional Living Expenses apply and for how long. Keep receipts for cleanup, accommodation and other eligible extra costs.
IBC claim guidance →What ALE does not answer
ALE does not determine whether damaged belongings are covered, whether the landlord must repair the unit, or whether a flood, sewer backup or other cause of loss is insured. Those are separate questions under the lease, provincial tenancy law and the policy wording.