Landlord Insurance in Leicester
Landlord Insurance in Leicester
Why it is a different product
Letting changes the risk in ways insurers price for:
Landlord insurance is built around those differences.
- The property is occupied by someone with no ownership stake in it
- There may be void periods with nobody there at all
- You are a landlord with legal duties to your tenants
- Damage may be caused deliberately rather than accidentally
- Your loss if the building becomes uninhabitable includes the rent, not just the repair
What the cover includes
Buildings insurance
The core, and required by your buy to let lender. Insured for rebuild cost, not market value.
Property owners' liability
Essential. Covers you if a tenant or visitor is injured and claims you were responsible — a faulty stair, a loose tile, a defective boiler. This is the cover that protects you against the largest potential losses, and it is why it is standard rather than optional.
Loss of rent
Pays the rent if the property becomes uninhabitable after an insured event such as a fire or flood. Without it you face a repair bill and no income simultaneously.
Landlord contents
Carpets, curtains, white goods, fitted items. Needed even on an unfurnished let.
Malicious damage by tenants
Frequently excluded from standard policies and available as an add-on. Worth considering.
Legal expenses and rent guarantee
Cover for possession proceedings and unpaid rent. Usually requires proper tenant referencing and a compliant tenancy agreement.
Student and HMO property needs a specific policy
Around Leicester's two universities and Loughborough, a large share of rental property is let by the room to multiple unrelated occupants.
That is a different insurance risk, and a good number of insurers either decline it or rate it separately. A policy written for a single family let will not respond properly to an HMO claim.
Declare the tenant type honestly — students, sharers, professionals, or tenants in receipt of benefits. Insurers rate these differently, and getting a cheaper quote by describing the let inaccurately makes the policy worthless.
Where you have an HMO, licensing and fire safety compliance also matter to insurers. See HMO mortgages in Leicester.
Void periods
Most policies restrict cover once a property is unoccupied beyond a set period, commonly 30 to 60 days.
For student lets with a summer void, or a property between tenancies while you refurbish, that restriction can leave you exposed exactly when the building is empty and most vulnerable.
Tell your insurer. Unoccupied property cover exists, and a short conversation is considerably cheaper than a declined claim.
What your tenant should insure
Worth being explicit with tenants at the start of a tenancy, because the misunderstanding causes friction later.
Your policy covers the building and your contents — carpets, curtains, white goods, fitted items.
It does not cover the tenant's possessions. Their furniture, electronics, clothing and belongings are their own responsibility, and if a fire or flood destroys them your insurer will not pay.
Many tenants assume the landlord's policy covers everything. Saying so plainly at the outset, ideally in writing alongside the tenancy agreement, avoids a difficult conversation after an incident and reduces the chance of a dispute or a claim against you.
Some landlords include a note about tenant contents insurance in the welcome pack. It costs nothing and it marks out a professionally run tenancy.
Portfolio landlords
If you hold several properties, a portfolio policy covering all of them under one arrangement is usually simpler and often cheaper than individual policies — one renewal date, one point of contact, and typically better terms at volume.
Worth reviewing once you hold three or four properties. See portfolio mortgages in Leicester.
What we do
We arrange landlord cover appropriate to the property and the tenant type, including student, HMO and portfolio arrangements that mainstream comparison sites handle poorly.
Keep your obligations current, or a claim may fail
Landlord insurance sits alongside a set of legal duties, and insurers increasingly ask whether they have been met.
The recurring ones: a valid gas safety certificate renewed annually, an electrical installation condition report at the required interval, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and a current energy performance certificate meeting the minimum standard for letting.
Where an HMO is involved, add the licence and its conditions — fire doors, alarm systems, emergency lighting.
Two reasons to keep on top of this. It is a legal requirement in its own right. And where an incident arises from something you were obliged to maintain and did not, an insurer may reduce or decline a claim.
Diary the renewal dates. It is the least interesting part of being a landlord and the part that causes the most trouble when neglected.
Speak to us
Call 0116 277 7536 or book a free consultation.
Cedar House, 3 Broad Street, Enderby, Leicester, LE19 4AA.
Common questions
Can I use normal home insurance on a rental property?
No. A standard home insurance policy assumes you live in the property. Letting it without telling the insurer will usually invalidate the policy, meaning a claim is declined at exactly the point you need it. Landlord insurance is a different product for a different risk.
What does landlord insurance typically include?
Buildings cover as standard, plus property owners' liability. Optional additions commonly include loss of rent, landlord contents for furnished lets, accidental damage, malicious damage by tenants, legal expenses and rent guarantee. What you need depends on the property and the tenant type.
Do I need landlord contents cover on an unfurnished let?
Usually a small amount, yes. Even an unfurnished property normally has carpets, curtains, white goods and fitted items belonging to you. Tenants insure their own possessions; yours are your responsibility.
Is student and HMO property treated differently?
Yes. Multiple unrelated occupants is a different risk, and many insurers either decline it or price it separately. If you are letting to students or running an HMO, you need a policy written for that — declaring it is essential, not optional.
What is rent guarantee and is it worth it?
It covers rent if a tenant stops paying, usually alongside legal expenses for possession proceedings. It typically requires proper referencing at the outset and a compliant tenancy agreement. Worth considering where a void or arrears would cause you genuine difficulty.
Will my lender require it?
Buildings cover, yes — it is a condition of a buy to let mortgage just as with a residential one. The additional covers are your choice, but the buildings element must be appropriate for a let property, not a policy written for an owner-occupier.
Related
Important information
This is a general insurance policy with no cash-in value at any time. Cover is subject to underwriting and to the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the individual policy. If you stop paying premiums, cover will end.
No cost, no obligation
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