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Letting a property on a standard homeowner’s policy does not just risk a reduced payout. It can void the cover from the moment a tenant moves in if the insurer was not told about the change. A let property presents a different risk from an owner-occupied one, and the insurer needs to know about the change in use.
An estimated 400,000 UK landlords are currently operating with no insurance at all, out of roughly 2.7 million private landlords, according to Alan Boswell Group’s 2026 landlord insurance data. The median cost of landlord insurance in 2026 is £284.75 a year, often less than a single month’s rent. The Renters’ Rights Act has removed Section 21 no-fault evictions and extended the timescales landlords face when a tenancy needs to end. This has materially increased the financial exposure of a non-paying tenant compared with previous years. Letting a property without notifying the insurer is one of the most common reasons a claim can be declined outright—not reduced—because the policy may be treated as void from the point the letting began.
| Cover type | What it protects against | Typical annual cost (2026 estimates) |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord buildings insurance | Structure, fixtures, damage from fire, flood, storm | Base policy, median £284.75 across all landlord policies |
| Landlord contents insurance | Furnishings and appliances owned by the landlord in furnished lets | Roughly £74 to £248 depending on cover level |
| Rent guarantee insurance | Tenant stops paying rent, non-payment specifically | Around £195 a year when bundled with a buildings policy |
| Legal expenses cover | Eviction costs, tenant disputes, up to £100,000 in some policies | Around £60 per tenancy |
| Home emergency cover | Boiler failure, plumbing emergencies requiring urgent attention | Around £155 a year |
| Landlord liability | Injury or damage claims from tenants or visitors, typically £1m to £5m of cover | Often bundled into the base buildings premium |
Run the numbers, then talk to us. Our financial calculators cover mortgage repayments, how much you could borrow, stamp duty, bridging finance and rental yield. Results are estimates only and should not be relied on as financial advice.
Landlord insurance is not one product. It is a combination of covers that changes depending on your property, your tenant, and your exposure. Here are four situations our advisers deal with regularly.
A standard residential buildings policy can be voided from the point a tenant occupies the property if the insurer was not told about the change in use. Not from the date of the claim, but from the date the tenancy began. If a tenant causes a fire in month six, the insurer may treat the policy as void from inception and decline the claim in full. You could then be personally liable for repairs, structural damage, and any third-party liability arising from damage to neighbouring properties.
Section 21 no-fault evictions no longer exist under the Renters’ Rights Act. Recovering possession for non-payment of rent now involves the applicable notice process and, where required, a county court process and possession order. In many cases, that can take several months. During that time, rent may not arrive. Rent guarantee insurance, often available as an optional add-on to landlord cover, can help cover missed rent during the legal process, subject to the policy terms. Without it, every month of non-payment is potentially your loss.
Landlord contents insurance covers your own fixtures, fittings, white goods, and furnishings. If the true replacement value is £24,000 and you declared £12,000, the average clause can reduce a claim proportionally, just as it can with buildings insurance. Listing what you actually own and what it would cost to replace on a new-for-old basis takes time, but it can prevent a significant shortfall on a claim you expected to be paid in full.
HMOs carry a different risk profile from standard single-let properties. Higher occupant turnover, shared cooking and bathroom facilities, and different maintenance obligations mean most standard landlord policies either exclude HMOs outright or impose conditions that policyholders may overlook. If your property meets the HMO definition and the policy was never updated, a claim investigation is likely to uncover the mismatch at exactly the wrong moment.
Speak to an adviser to discuss your circumstances and explore how bridging finance could work for you.
A landlord lets out a flat that was previously their own home. The buildings insurance, a standard residential homeowner’s policy, was never updated when the tenancy began because it was the same building. A tenant causes a kitchen fire. The landlord makes a claim. The insurer investigates, discovers the property has been tenanted for 14 months without any disclosure, and voids the policy from inception—not from the date of the fire, but from the day the tenancy began. There is no payout. The landlord is personally liable for the full cost of repairs, the neighbouring flat’s smoke-damage claim, and any injury liability. Total uninsured exposure: £67,000.
Same flat. Same fire. Same tenant. Landlord-specific buildings insurance, arranged correctly at the point of letting, pays for the fire damage in full. Loss of rent during repairs is covered separately, while the neighbouring flat’s smoke-damage claim is handled under the public liability section. Total personal cost to the landlord: the policy excess.
Clear,honest answers to the questions we hear most from clients and introducers.
A standard residential buildings policy can be voided from the moment a tenant occupies the property if the insurer has not been notified. Not from the date of a claim, but from the date the tenancy began. This means months of letting on a standard homeowner’s policy could leave you personally liable for structural damage, third-party injury, or other losses during that period. Switching to a landlord-specific buildings policy before the tenancy starts is the cleanest solution.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, Section 21 no-fault evictions no longer exist. Recovering a property for non-payment of rent involves the applicable notice process and, where required, a county court process and possession order. The process can take several months. Rent guarantee insurance, often available as an optional add-on to landlord cover, can help cover missed rent during that period, subject to the policy terms. Without it, every month of non-payment is potentially your loss.
Deposits are capped at five weeks’ rent under the Tenant Fees Act. They do not cover the full replacement cost of carpets, furnishings, and white goods in most furnished properties. Landlord contents insurance covers your own fixtures and fittings and provides a more reliable mechanism for recovering eligible costs than relying on deposit disputes alone.
Properties meeting the HMO definition carry a different risk profile from standard single-let properties. Higher occupant turnover, shared cooking facilities, and specific licensing obligations mean many standard landlord policies either exclude HMOs or impose conditions that are easy to miss. If your property has three or more unrelated tenants and there is any possibility it qualifies as an HMO, reviewing the policy before a claim is far cheaper than discovering a mismatch during one.
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