🏘️ Residential Landlord Insurance

Landlord Insurance — Every Type of Property, Covered

From professional lets to student houses, holiday cottages to blocks of flats — explore specialist residential landlord cover from FCA-authorised insurers. Standard home insurance won't protect you.

  • Buildings & contents
  • Loss of rent
  • Landlord liability
  • Legal expenses
  • Malicious damage
  • All residential property types
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Find Your Cover

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What Type of Residential Property Do You Let?

Each property type carries different risks and requires different cover. Select your property type for a dedicated guide.

What Does Landlord Insurance Include?

A comprehensive landlord policy bundles several types of cover unavailable on a standard home insurance policy.

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Buildings Insurance

Covers the structure against fire, flood, storm, subsidence and accidental damage. Required by most buy-to-let mortgage lenders.

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Landlord Contents

For furnished lets — covers your furniture, white goods and fittings against damage or theft. Does not cover tenants' own belongings.

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Loss of Rent

Pays your rental income if the property is uninhabitable following an insured event — fire, flood, major damage — while repairs are carried out.

⚖️

Landlord Liability

Covers legal costs and compensation if a tenant or visitor is injured on your property and holds you legally responsible.

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Legal Expenses

Covers eviction proceedings, rent recovery disputes, deposit disputes and other tenant-related legal costs. Often available as an add-on.

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Malicious Damage

Covers deliberate damage by tenants — not included in standard buildings policies. Critical for higher-risk tenancies including students and DSS lets.

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Rent Guarantee

Separate from loss of rent — pays your rental income if tenants stop paying. Requires a valid tenancy agreement and referencing checks.

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Home Emergency

Covers emergency call-outs for boiler breakdown, burst pipes, lost keys and other urgent property issues. Available as an add-on.

What's Covered and What's Not

Landlord policies vary between insurers. Here's a general guide — always read the full policy wording.

✓ Typically Covered

  • Fire, flood, storm and escape of water
  • Theft and attempted break-in
  • Subsidence, heave and landslip
  • Loss of rental income during repairs
  • Accidental damage (with correct add-on)
  • Malicious damage by tenants (check policy)
  • Property owner liability up to £2–5m
  • Legal expenses for tenant disputes (add-on)
  • Alternative accommodation for displaced tenants
  • Trace and access (finding the source of a leak)

✕ Typically Not Covered

  • General wear and tear or gradual deterioration
  • Properties unoccupied for 30–45+ consecutive days
  • Boiler breakdown (needs home emergency add-on)
  • Rent arrears (needs separate rent guarantee policy)
  • Tenants' own belongings
  • Properties under major renovation or construction
  • Pre-existing damage or defects
  • Damage caused by vermin or insects
  • HMOs not declared at inception
  • Commercial use not declared to insurer
💡 Portfolio landlords: A single portfolio policy covering all properties under one renewal is usually more cost-effective than insuring each property separately. See our portfolio landlord guide →

Do You Own Commercial Property?

Residential landlord insurance doesn't cover offices, retail units, warehouses, restaurants or mixed-use buildings. If you own commercial premises — tenanted or owner-occupied — you need a specialist commercial property owners policy.

What to Look for in Landlord Insurance

A few things worth checking before you buy, whichever UK insurer or broker you choose.

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Indemnity limit

Check the limit matches what your contracts, landlord or clients require — common tiers are £1m, £2m, £5m and £10m depending on trade and risk.

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Claims basis

Professional and liability covers are often "claims-made" — cover depends on holding a live policy when a claim is made, not just when the work happened.

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Exclusions

Read what's excluded, not just what's covered. Sub-contractor work, specific activities, or work carried out overseas are common gaps.

FCA authorisation

Before buying, confirm any insurer or broker is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority — check the register at register.fca.org.uk.

🤝 We're finalising partnerships with FCA-authorised UK insurers so you can explore real quotes here soon. Check back shortly, or get in touch if you'd like to be notified when quotes go live.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Standard home insurance policies explicitly exclude properties rented out to tenants. Using home insurance on a rental property invalidates the policy entirely and leaves you unprotected — and your mortgage lender may also consider this a breach of your mortgage conditions.
Yes — buy-to-let mortgage lenders universally require buildings insurance as a condition of the loan. Some specify minimum rebuild value requirements. Check your mortgage terms carefully and make sure your sum insured is based on the rebuild cost, not the market value.
Loss of rent covers rental income lost while your property is uninhabitable following an insured event (fire, flood, major damage). Rent guarantee insurance is a separate product that covers you if your tenant simply stops paying rent — whether or not the property has been damaged. You may want both.
Yes — HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) properties require specialist HMO insurance due to higher risk, higher occupancy and licensing requirements. Standard landlord insurance may not cover licensed HMOs. Always declare the tenancy type when getting a quote.
Landlord insurance is not a legal requirement in the UK. However, most buy-to-let mortgage lenders require buildings insurance as a mortgage condition. It is strongly recommended regardless — a single uninsured event such as a fire, flood or liability claim could cost tens of thousands of pounds.
Yes — portfolio landlord policies cover multiple residential properties under a single policy with one renewal date. This is usually more cost-effective than insuring each property individually, and significantly easier to manage. Most specialist insurers offer portfolio cover from two or more properties.
The freeholder's buildings insurance covers the main structure and common parts, but it won't cover your contents, your fixtures and fittings within the flat, loss of rent, or your liability as a landlord. You'll still need a landlord policy for these — see our individual flat guide.

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