Standard home insurance does not cover a property used as a rental. If you let your property under any kind of tenancy, you need specialist landlord insurance, or you risk being uninsured for building damage, liability claims, and loss of rent. This guide explains the main policy types and what they actually cover.
Why standard home insurance is not enough
Standard home and contents policies typically exclude cover when the property is tenanted. The most common exclusions are:
- Malicious or accidental damage caused by tenants
- Loss of rent following an insured event (fire, flood) that makes the property uninhabitable
- Public liability for injury to tenants or their visitors at the property
- Legal expenses arising from possession proceedings or rent disputes
If you have a buy-to-let mortgage, your mortgage lender will usually require a minimum level of landlord buildings insurance as a condition of the mortgage, standard home insurance does not satisfy this requirement.
Landlord buildings insurance
The core policy for any property you let. Covers the structure of the building (walls, roof, floors, permanent fixtures) against fire, flood, storm, subsidence, and accidental damage. Most policies also include:
- Property owner's liability, covers you if someone is injured at the property and claims against you
- Alternative accommodation costs, pays for temporary housing if the property is uninhabitable after an insured event
- Loss of rent, covers lost rental income while the property is being repaired following an insured claim
- Malicious damage by tenants, an optional add-on, but important for landlords with higher turnover tenancies
Contents insurance for landlords
If you let your property furnished, you need landlord contents insurance. This covers furniture, appliances, and fixtures provided by you, not the tenant's own belongings (tenants should have their own contents policy). Most landlord contents policies cover the same perils as buildings: fire, flood, theft, and malicious damage.
If you let unfurnished, tenants are responsible for their own contents. You still need landlord buildings insurance, but contents cover is optional unless you leave white goods or light fittings.
Rent guarantee insurance
Also called rent protection insurance, this covers your rental income if a tenant stops paying rent. It typically pays out a monthly benefit (up to a capped limit, often 6 or 12 months of rent) once the arrears reach a trigger threshold, while you pursue possession through the courts.
- Usually requires a satisfactory tenant reference check before or at the start of the tenancy, policies with no referencing requirement typically have lower payout caps
- Most policies have a waiting period of 30–90 days before the first payment
- Cover usually continues until possession is obtained or the policy limit is reached
- Legal expenses are often bundled, covering the cost of possession proceedings and eviction
Legal expenses insurance
Covers solicitor and court costs for landlord–tenant disputes including possession proceedings, deposit disputes, and rent recovery. Since Section 21 is abolished and every possession now requires a Section 8 court claim, legal expenses insurance has become more important for landlords with long-term tenancies.
Emergency cover
Many landlord policies include emergency cover for sudden failures: boiler breakdown, burst pipes, electrical failure, broken windows, and lock damage. Some policies include a 24-hour helpline and provide emergency trades on the same day. Check whether this is included or an add-on.
What is typically not covered
- Wear and tear, gradual deterioration of the property or its fittings over time
- Unoccupied property for more than 30 or 60 days (check your policy's vacancy clause, this commonly causes claim rejections on long void periods)
- Properties not maintained to a reasonable standard, neglected properties may be excluded from certain perils
- Tenant's own belongings, these require the tenant to take out their own contents policy
How rent guarantee insurance interacts with the Renters' Rights Act
From 1 May 2026, possession proceedings take longer because Section 21 no longer provides an accelerated route for no-fault evictions. This has made rent guarantee and legal expenses insurance more valuable, since the financial exposure during contested possession proceedings is higher. Many insurers updated their landlord policy terms after 1 May 2026, check that your policy has been reviewed against the new regime.