Buy-to-let insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why is buy to let house insurance important?
From managing tenants to property maintenance, having a buy-to-let property can be its own full-time job. Bad weather damage, vandalism to the exterior, lost keys, and unpaid rent – landlords usually require specific cover, designed for rental properties and featuring protection like buy-to-let building insurance.
- buy-to-let building insurance covering rebuilds up to £1 million
- financial support if your property is too damaged to rent out
- up to £50,000 rental indemnity if you have to evict your tenants and recover rent
What does buy to let landlord insurance cover?
We’ll usually start with buy-to-let building insurance, plus contents insurance if you need cover for your own belongings inside the property. From there, you can add the cover you need, factoring in options like tenant default insurance and accidental damage cover. And remember, if a tenant or visitor holds you responsible for property damage – or an injury – property owners’ liability insurance can cover an unexpected claim.
Buy to let building insurance
In case disaster hits and your property gets damaged.
Landlords contents insurance
In case disaster hits and your contents get damaged.
Accidental damage insurance
In case your tenant or their guests accidentally damage your property.
Tenant default insurance
In case your tenants don’t keep up their rental payments.
Property owners’ liability insurance
In case you’re legally responsible for injuries or property damage, as owner of the building.
Landlord legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs as the property’s landlord.
Buy to let building insurance
In case disaster hits and your property gets damaged.
What's typically covered by building insurance?
- damage to your property caused by incidents like fire, lightning, explosion, malicious damage, and escape of water
For example:
- a fire causes structural damage to your building, and you need to pay for a partial rebuild
- high winds during a storm causes extensive damage to your tiled roof, breaking and dislodging many tiles which will need to be replaced
What you’ll need additional cover for
- accidental damage to the property caused by your tenants – you’ll need to add our specific accidental damage cover for this
Read more about buildings insurance for landlords
Landlords contents insurance
In case disaster hits and your contents get damaged.
What's typically covered by landlords contents insurance?
- damage to your contents caused by incidents like fire, lightning, explosion, malicious damage, and escape of water
- contents include things like your appliances, furniture, and household goods
For example:
- thieves break into your buy-to-let property and vandalise your furniture while searching for valuables
- a burst pipe floods your property’s ground floor, causing extensive water damage to your wooden lounge furniture and three-piece suite
What you’ll need additional cover for
- accidental damage to the property caused by your tenants – you’ll need to add our specific accidental damage cover for this
Read more about landlords contents insurance
Accidental damage insurance
In case your tenant or their guests accidentally damage your property.
What's typically covered by accidental damage insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- unexpected physical damage to your property or contents, caused by your tenants or their visitors
For example:
- while moving into the property, your new tenant accidentally scrapes and damages the newly plastered walls
- your tenant drops a mirror in the bathroom, cracking the sink and several floor tiles
Read more about accidental damage insurance
Tenant default insurance
In case your tenants don’t keep up their rental payments.
What's typically covered by tenant default insurance?
- up to £50,000 rental indemnity across a 12-month rental payment period, if you have to evict your tenants for not paying rent
For example:
- your tenant misses a few rental payments so you serve an eviction notice, giving them three months to find alternative accommodation – before moving out, they cause intentional damage to the property, breaking doors and damaging the kitchen cupboards which will all need fixing before new tenants can move in
- your tenants fall behind on their rental payments, missing four in total – you serve an eviction notice and need to claim the unpaid rent
Read more about tenant default insurance
Property owners’ liability insurance
In case you’re legally responsible for injuries or property damage, as owner of the building.
What's typically covered by property owners’ liability insurance?
- legal liability for injuries, accidental loss or damage, as the owner of the property
For example:
- your tenant’s elderly relative trips on a loose stair carpet tile, falling and fracturing their wrist and hip which will require extensive hospital treatment
- during a storm, tiles are blown from the property’s roof, damaging the bodywork and glass of cars parked on your street
Read more about landlord liability insurance
Landlord legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs as the property’s landlord.
What's typically covered by landlord legal expenses insurance?
- repossession – covering your legal costs when trying to regain possession of the property, and appointing a solicitor to represent you
- property damage – covering your legal costs if over £1,000 of damage is made to your buy-to-let, and appointing a solicitor for you
- tenant eviction – covering the legal costs of evicting your tenants (if you choose to add our specific tenant default insurance, this can pick up the rental payments they owe you)
- rent recovery – covering your legal costs when recovering rent you’re owed, if it’s late by one calendar month
- tax protection and contractual disputes – representing and negotiating for you, if a full enquiry is made into your personal tax affairs, or during a contractual dispute over goods and services
For example:
- your tenants stop paying rent and you need to pay legal costs as part of the eviction process, so that you can repossess the property
- there’s a contract dispute with your tenant and you need legal support to help negotiate and resolve the issue
Read more about landlord legal expenses insurance
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of landlord insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
What property types are covered with landlords’ insurance?
We provide cover for a range of property types, including:
- terraced and end terrace houses
- semi-detached houses
- detached houses
- bungalows
- maisonettes
- individual flats in purpose-built blocks or buildings
- individual flats in converted buildings or houses
- entire purpose-built buildings with multiple flats
- entire converted buildings or houses with multiple flats
How much does buy to let property insurance cost?
Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.
Prices start from £9.53 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
*How we work out example prices 10% of our customers paid up to £114.35 a year for a landlord buildings cover only policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £9.53 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Example buy to let insurance quotes, real prices
£27.59 /month
£245.22 /year
Renting to 3 professional people with a HMO licence
- Residential
- Detached house
- 3 bedrooms
- 1 bathroom
- Built between 1980 and 1989
- 1-2 years
- Occupied
- Based in Bristol
Landlord buildings
£175,001 to £200,000
Property owners' liability
£2,000,000
Property owners' liability
not included
£47.98 /month
£426.48 /year
Renting out 4 flats in a converted building
- Residential
- Entire building with multiple flats converted building or house
- Built between 1990 and 2000
- Over 5 years
- Occupied
- Based in Telford
Landlord buildings
£350,001 to £400,000
Landlords' contents
£10,001 to £12,500
Property owners' liability
£5,000,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 22/04/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your property. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.
What kind of excess should I expect?
An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.
Insurance cover | Lowest excess | Highest excess |
|---|---|---|
Main Building | £100 | £2500 |
Fixtures & fittings | £100 | £2500 |
Contents | £100 | £2500 |
Accidental damage | £100 | £500 |
Landlord liability | £0 | £500 |
The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.
How it works
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How do I choose insurance?
Making sure you have the right type and level of landlord insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.
What if my property is unoccupied?
What if my tenant's situation changes?
Are carpets and curtains covered?
Will tenant default insurance cover me if my property becomes unoccupied?
What if I'm subletting my property?
Do I need any other additional landlord covers?
What if my property is unoccupied?
If you've bought insurance for an unoccupied property, you'll be asked to confirm if the property is expected to be occupied within 60 days of the policy starting.
After this, you must contact us to confirm when the property becomes occupied – if you don't tell us, this can cause a delay in any claims being processed.
You should also be aware that you can't claim for lost rent under the loss of rent section of your insurance if your property becomes unoccupied.
What if my tenant's situation changes?
If your tenant's employment status changes – or if a new tenant moves in and their employment status is different to the previous tenant – you'll need to tell us immediately. If you don't, it could cause a delay in any claims being processed.
Are carpets and curtains covered?
The definition of 'fixtures and fittings' will depend on the insurer – sometimes, it will include laminate flooring, carpets, curtains and blinds.
It's a good idea to check the wording in your policy to understand what's covered.
Read more about contents insurance for landlords and buildings insurance.
Will tenant default insurance cover me if my property becomes unoccupied?
If your property becomes unoccupied, you won't be able to make a claim for lost rent under tenant default cover.
This also applies if your tenant falls into arrears and can't pay their rent, but you're not planning to evict them. You can only claim for lost rent under tenant default cover if you start repossession proceedings.
Read more about tenant default insurance and rent guarantee insurance.
What if I'm subletting my property?
It's vital that any tenancy agreement that you have is between you and the occupant of the property.
If the occupant of your property has a tenancy agreement with a third party (such as a letting agency or a local authority) and not you as the property owner, then your insurance policy could be cancelled and you won't be able to make any claims.
Do I need any other additional landlord covers?
You can add a range of other important covers to your landlord insurance policy, all while keeping it simple with a single premium and a single renewal date. You might consider these covers:
Talk to an expert
Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm
Call our team
How do claims work?
Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
Harry saved more than £94,300
An electrical fire in Harry’s (not his real name) Grade II listed property caused extensive damage, requiring a partial rebuild. The buy-to-let building insurance in his landlord insurance policy covered the cost of fire damage, and the rebuild costs.
Insurance payout
£94,345.70
Covering the cost of fire damage
Harry’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Harry’s policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 315,000 landlord customers now trusting us to provide their insurance.
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
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Buy to let insurance FAQ
Whether you’re new to buying landlord insurance or you’ve been letting your property for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about buy-to-let home insurance. You can also check out our landlord insurance FAQs.
This will depend on your specific circumstances, the type of property you’re renting out, your tenants and various other factors. Right now, our landlord policy prices start from £9.53 per month.
To work this out, 10% of our customers paid up to £114.35 a year for a landlord buildings cover only policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £9.53 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Home insurance is required when you want to insure the home you’re living in against accidental loss or damage.
Landlord insurance is different – it’s required when you own a property that you rent out to a third party, and don’t live in yourself. It covers different insurance risks from a home policy, taking into account the type of tenant you rent to and how long you’ve owned the property. It also allows you to insure the property and protect yourself against things like loss of rental income, and malicious damage caused by your tenants.
You aren’t legally required to take out a specific landlord policy, but remember – a conventional home insurance policy won’t cover you for rental activities, and a mortgage lender will usually demand you have specific landlord cover in place, before you let your property.
Popular covers include property owners’ liability and contents insurance, for accidents on your property, plus buildings cover to protect the property itself.
As we’ve outlined above, there’s currently no legal obligation to take out a dedicated landlord insurance policy. However, a home insurance policy won’t cover you for the specific risks you and your tenants face, and a mortgage lender will usually require you to have buy-to-let insurance in place too, before renting out your property.
If you’ve provided furniture and other contents for your tenants – maybe even a TV or art for the walls – your property is known as ‘furnished’, and protection is key for most landlords. You can buy contents insurance as part of your landlord insurance policy, just add it when completing your landlord insurance quote.
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of landlord insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions.
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