I lived in an apartment complex (total 134 units) in San Diego for more than 1 year now. Yesterday I opened one of my bedroom closets and found out every coat and set of sheet was wet and stained because of the leaking of the pipe linked to the central AC system. I contacted the management office right away, and they only repaired the pipe. But their manager said that they would not be responsible for the damages of my personal properties, and I should claim for the rental insurance for such situation.
I checked the lease which I signed in last July. Inside of which, item 10 said “Landlord shall not be liable to Tenant,… for personal injuries or property damage occasioned directly or indirectly by: failure to repair water leaks for plumbing, hearing or air conditioning equipment….”. Does this mean I should be solely responsible for all of these damages?
When I signed the 1-year lease last July (which is expired at this July, and they put me on a month-to-month by a certified mail), the leasing office didn’t even mention ‘the rental insurance’ issue to me at all, so I didn’t know about this until today. The damage is about $450 as total, for cleaning the 17 winter coats and all of my sheets. What I should do? Any helpful suggestions will be truly appreciated! Thanks a lot!

Live with it. ALWAYS read the fine print. And only a fool will sign a contract before reading EVERYTHING. Consider this an important (though costly) lesson.

I think they are saying to file a claim with your renters insurance policy to get money for your damages, instead of asking them to pay for the damages. If they need to go after the property management group, the insurance company will step into your shoes via subrogation and sue them, and the lawyers will work it out.
I blieve this is a strategy to make sure they do not get claims, can then settle, and keep their insurance costs down.
They are not obligated to tell you to get rental insurance. But if you rent, it is a good idea and is inexpensive.