Landlord Insurance: The UK Guide for Residential & Commercial Landlords

Reviewed by Apex Insurance Brokers · Last reviewed 2026-08-06

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Isn't my ordinary home insurance enough once I let the property out?

No – and this catches out more first-time landlords than almost anything else. A standard home policy is priced and worded on the basis that you live there. The moment tenants move in, the risk changes: the insurer no longer knows who is in the property, escape-of-water and accidental damage patterns shift, and periods between tenancies leave the building empty in a way an owner-occupied home rarely is. Many household policies exclude or heavily restrict cover once a property is let, so a claim can fail not because the damage isn't covered in principle, but because the policyholder never told the insurer the property was tenanted.

If you've recently let out a former home – after moving in with a partner, inheriting a property, or relocating for work – the honest advice is simple: tell your insurer, or better, move to a proper landlord policy. The premium difference is rarely dramatic, and the difference at claim time can be everything.

What does landlord buildings insurance actually cover?

Buildings cover is the core of the policy. It protects the structure – walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchens and bathrooms, plus outbuildings, boundary walls, drives and underground services – against events such as fire, escape of water, storm, flood, subsidence, impact and vandalism. On a well-arranged landlord policy you'd typically expect to see:

• Buildings at full rebuild cost – the cost to demolish, clear the site and rebuild, including professional fees. This is not the market value; in much of the UK the two figures are very different, in either direction.
• Loss of rent and alternative accommodation following insured damage that makes the property unlettable.
• Property owners' liability for injury or damage claims from tenants, visitors and passers-by.
• Landlord's contents – carpets, curtains, white goods and furniture you provide, or furnishings in communal areas of a block.
• Optional extensions such as malicious damage and theft by tenants, accidental damage, legal expenses and rent guarantee.

The single biggest problem we see on landlord buildings claims is underinsurance. If your sum insured is well below the true rebuild cost, insurers can reduce a claim payment proportionately – so a property insured for half its rebuild cost may only see half of a partial loss paid. A periodic rebuild cost reassessment, and a policy with index-linking, are cheap protection against an expensive surprise. It's one of the first things we check when we review a landlord's existing cover.

How does loss of rent cover work?

Loss of rent is the part of the policy landlords most underestimate – until a serious escape of water or fire takes a property out of action for months. It pays the rent you lose while the property is uninhabitable because of damage covered under the buildings section. A burst tank that ruins two floors, a kitchen fire, storm damage that opens up the roof: while the property can't be lived in, the policy keeps the rent coming and, where needed, contributes to rehousing residential tenants.

Two details matter when you're comparing policies. First, the indemnity period – how long the cover runs. Twelve months sounds generous until you've experienced a subsidence claim or a major fire with drying-out, reinstatement and re-letting time on top; 24 or 36 months is often the more realistic choice, particularly for flats where freeholder consents and shared repairs slow everything down. Second, the limit, usually expressed as a percentage of the buildings sum insured or a fixed annual rent figure – make sure it reflects what the property actually earns today, not what it earned when the policy was first taken out.

Be clear about what loss of rent is not: it does not cover a tenant who simply stops paying. That's a different product – rent guarantee insurance, usually sold alongside tenant referencing and legal expenses cover – and it's worth discussing separately if arrears are your bigger worry.

What is property owners' liability – and do I legally need it?

Property owners' liability covers your legal liability to pay compensation if someone is injured, or their property is damaged, because of your building. A tenant trips on a loose stair carpet in the common hallway; a slate comes off the roof and hits a parked car; a visitor is hurt by a defective handrail. Claims like these come with legal defence costs attached, and where an injury is serious, awards can be substantial. Policies commonly offer limits of £1 million, £2 million or £5 million as illustrative options – for most landlords we'd rarely suggest the bottom end.

To be precise about the law, because it matters: property owners' liability (like public liability generally) is not a legal requirement. No statute forces a landlord to hold it. It is, however, a practical necessity – landlords owe duties to tenants and visitors, letting agents and block management agreements frequently require it, and defending even an unsuccessful claim without insurance is painful. Where cover is legally required is different, and we cover it next.

I employ a caretaker – do I need Employers' Liability insurance?

Yes. If you employ anyone – a caretaker or cleaner for a block, a maintenance person on your payroll, even part-time or casual staff – Employers' Liability insurance is legally required under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. It covers your liability if an employee is injured or made ill through their work, and you must display the certificate where staff can see it.

Most small landlords use genuinely independent contractors – a self-employed plumber or electrician working under their own insurance – and don't need EL. But the line isn't always where people assume: someone who works regularly under your direction, using your equipment, may count as an employee for these purposes whatever the paperwork says. If you're anywhere near that line, especially on larger blocks or portfolios with in-house maintenance, tell us how the work is actually arranged and we'll make sure the policy reflects it. It's an easy thing to get right up front and a miserable thing to discover at claim time.

Larger or more complex risk? Speak directly to a director — call 0117 325 0027 or email info@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk.

Is malicious damage by tenants covered?

Not automatically – and this is a distinction worth understanding before you need it. Most landlord policies cover malicious damage by third parties (a break-in that wrecks the kitchen, vandalism to an empty property) as standard. Damage deliberately caused by the tenant or their guests is often a separate, optional extension – and it's the version landlords actually claim on: rooms stripped or trashed at the end of a difficult tenancy, doors kicked through, fixtures ripped out, or the aftermath when a property has been misused.

If you add it, read the wording with your broker. Expect a separate excess, sometimes a lower inner limit than the main buildings sum, and conditions around referencing tenants and inspecting the property periodically. Theft by tenants is usually a distinct extension again. None of this is a reason to avoid the cover – it's a reason to buy it deliberately rather than assume it's included.

What happens when the property is empty between tenancies?

Empty properties are where landlord policies most often bite. Insurers treat unoccupancy as a materially higher risk – slow leaks run unnoticed, break-ins and vandalism rise, small fires become big ones – so almost every policy changes what it covers once a property has been empty beyond a stated period, commonly 30 or 60 days. Cover may narrow to a core of perils, excesses may rise, and conditions kick in: regular documented inspections, turning off the water or maintaining heating in winter, securing letterboxes and removing post.

An ordinary void of a couple of weeks between tenancies is rarely a problem. A longer gap – a probate property, a major refurbishment, a hard-to-let unit – needs to be flagged to your insurer or broker so the policy can be adjusted, sometimes onto specific unoccupied-property terms. Telling us about a long void costs nothing; not telling anyone can undermine the whole policy.

I'm a commercial or mixed-use landlord – what's different?

The same principles apply, but the details shift. If you let shops, offices, industrial units or the classic shop-with-flat-above, the policy needs to reflect the tenants' trades – a unit let to a café carries a different fire risk from one let to an accountant, and insurers will ask. Loss of rent works the same way but the sums are often larger and lease terms matter: under a full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease you'll typically insure the building and recharge the premium, so the policy needs to sit correctly alongside the lease, including any obligation to note tenants' interests.

Mixed-use and HMO landlords should also be upfront about exactly how the property is occupied. An HMO, a holiday let, student housing and a single family tenancy are all rated differently, and describing one as another – even innocently – is the kind of misdescription that jeopardises claims. This is genuinely a case where an accurate five-minute conversation with a broker does more for you than any comparison site.

What do landlords actually claim for?

Ask anyone who handles landlord claims and the same patterns come up. Escape of water leads the pack – burst pipes, failed washing machine hoses, leaking showers into the flat below – and it's why insurers care so much about winter precautions in empty properties. Storm damage to roofs, gutters and fences spikes every autumn and winter. End-of-tenancy malicious damage arrives in clusters, usually alongside rent arrears. Theft and vandalism concentrate on void properties. And liability claims, though less frequent, are the ones with the longest tails – a trip on a defective step can surface as a solicitor's letter many months later.

Knowing this shapes how we recommend cover: realistic loss of rent indemnity periods, because water and fire claims take longer to reinstate than people expect; malicious damage by tenants added knowingly rather than assumed; unoccupancy handled openly; and liability limits that reflect the worst day, not the average one.

Why arrange landlord insurance through Apex?

Apex Insurance Brokers is an independent, FCA-authorised brokerage based in Bristol, and landlord business – from single buy-to-lets to blocks, HMOs, commercial units and mixed portfolios – is bread-and-butter work for us. We'll check your rebuild costs and loss of rent limits, put multiple properties on one schedule with one renewal date where that helps, make sure lender and lease requirements are met, and be the ones on the phone when there's a claim. You deal with a person who knows your properties, not a call queue.

If your renewal is coming up, or you've just realised your let property is still sitting on a home policy, start a quote online or give us a ring – either way, a straight answer costs nothing.

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This article is general information, not advice on a specific policy.