Private Landlord Insurance: What Cover Do You Actually Need?

The short answer: almost no landlord insurance is required by law. The only compulsory cover is employers' liability insurance, and only if you employ staff. Buildings insurance is normally a condition of your mortgage (or is arranged by the freeholder under the lease if you own a leasehold flat). Everything else — contents, public liability, rent guarantee, legal expenses — is a choice about which risks you would rather pay a premium for than carry yourself. What is essential is that the policy you have is written for a let property: cover designed for owner-occupiers usually restricts or excludes cover once a property is let.

Which Cover Is Required, and by Whom?

Buildings Insurance

Buildings insurance covers the structure — walls, roof, floors, windows and permanent fixtures such as fitted kitchens and bathrooms — against insured events such as fire, flood, storm, escape of water and subsidence.

There is no statutory duty to insure a rental property. In practice, buy-to-let lenders make buildings cover a condition of the loan, and if you own a leasehold flat the lease usually obliges the freeholder to insure the building and recover the premium through the service charge — in which case your job is to check the block policy covers letting, not to buy a second one. If you own a freehold outright, nobody makes you insure, but you would be personally carrying the cost of rebuilding after a fire.

Insure for rebuild cost, not market value

The sum insured should be what it would cost to completely rebuild the property if it were destroyed — not what it would sell for, which includes the land. The Association of British Insurers links to a free BCIS rebuild cost calculator for houses and some flats. Setting the figure correctly and keeping it up to date is your responsibility, and many policies contain an "average" condition that reduces a partial claim in proportion to any underinsurance — check your policy wording for it.

Three wording checks

• Letting. Confirm the policy is written for a let property and names the type of tenancy and tenant you have. An owner-occupier policy is not the right product.
• Unoccupancy. Most policies restrict cover (often excluding escape of water, theft or malicious damage) once a property has been empty for a set number of consecutive days, and may impose conditions such as regular inspections or draining the water system. Find the number of days in your wording and diarise it for every void.
• Accidental and malicious damage by tenants. These are often optional extras or subject to a higher excess. If you want them, check they are actually included.

Contents Insurance

If you let the property furnished or part-furnished, landlord's contents cover protects the items you provide — furniture, appliances, carpets and curtains. It does not cover your tenants' belongings; that is for them to insure. For unfurnished lets, check whether items such as carpets and white goods sit under your buildings or contents cover on your policy before deciding you do not need contents cover.

Liability Insurance

Property owner's (public) liability covers claims from tenants, visitors or the public for injury or damage caused by your negligence as the owner — a loose stair rail you were told about, a defective appliance you supplied. It is not compulsory, but most landlord policies include it; check the limit of indemnity and whether it matches anything your lender, freeholder or licence requires.

Employers' liability is different: it is the one legal requirement. If you employ anyone — for example a caretaker or cleaner on your payroll — you must hold employers' liability insurance with at least £5 million of cover from an authorised insurer. You can be fined £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured and £1,000 for not displaying the certificate where employees can see it. You do not need it if you only employ close family members (GOV.UK; Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969). Tradespeople who run their own businesses and invoice you for a job are not normally your employees, but employment status depends on the facts — if you are unsure, ask your insurer.

Rent Guarantee Insurance

Rent guarantee insurance (RGI) pays the rent if your tenant stops paying, up to a limit, usually for a maximum number of months, and often includes the legal costs of recovering possession. When comparing policies, check:

• The excess period — how much unpaid rent you carry before the policy pays anything.
• The maximum claim period and monthly limit — whether they would last as long as a contested possession case could.
• Referencing conditions — most policies require the tenant to have passed referencing to the insurer's standard before the tenancy starts. If you did not meet that condition, the claim can be refused, and it cannot be fixed afterwards.
• Notification deadlines — policies commonly require you to report arrears within a set period. Missing it can void the claim.
• Tenancy compliance — insurers and their solicitors will need the tenancy to be in order (deposit protected, documents served), because the court needs it too (see below).

Legal Expenses Insurance

Legal expenses cover pays for solicitors and court costs in disputes such as possession claims, deposit disputes, disrepair claims or rent challenges. It is sold as a standalone policy, as an add-on to landlord insurance, or bundled with rent guarantee. Check whether it covers only possession or wider disputes, whether it requires the insurer's own panel solicitor, and whether there is a "reasonable prospects of success" test before a claim is accepted.

What the Renters' Rights Act Changed for Insurance

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 did not create any new insurance duty. It does change the risks rent guarantee and legal expenses cover are there to meet:

1. No more section 21. Since 1 May 2026, landlords can no longer use section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, so every possession claim now needs a section 8 ground (government roadmap). See how to end a tenancy after section 21.
2. Higher arrears threshold. The mandatory rent arrears ground (Ground 8) now requires three months' arrears rather than two, and the notice period rose from two weeks to four (Guide to the Renters' Rights Act). Check how your RGI excess and claim period line up with that.
3. Deposit failures now block most possession claims. A court cannot make a possession order where the deposit was not protected and the prescribed information given, except on Ground 7A or Ground 14 (anti-social behaviour) (Housing Act 2004, s215). An insurer cannot recover possession for you on a tenancy the court will not act on. See our deposit protection guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is landlord insurance a legal requirement in England?

No. The only compulsory cover is employers' liability insurance, and only if you employ staff. Buildings insurance is usually required by your mortgage lender or arranged by the freeholder under your lease, but not by statute.

Do I need buildings insurance if I own the property outright?

Legally, no. But without it you carry the full cost of rebuilding after a fire, flood or other major damage yourself. If you own a leasehold flat, check first whether the freeholder already insures the building.

Can I use my normal home insurance for a let property?

Owner-occupier home policies are written on the basis that you live there. Letting the property is a change you must tell your insurer about, and most will require a landlord policy instead. Relying on the wrong policy risks a claim being refused.

Does rent guarantee insurance cover me if my tenant refuses to leave?

Only if the tenant also stops paying rent, and only within the policy's limits. Many rent guarantee policies include the legal costs of seeking possession, but pay out only if the tenant was referenced to the insurer's standard before the tenancy began and you reported the arrears within the policy's deadline.

Are landlord insurance premiums tax-deductible?

Yes. HMRC lists insurance, "such as landlords' policies for buildings, contents and public liability", as an allowable expense against rental income (GOV.UK). See our landlord tax guide.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Employers' liability insurance
• Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969
• Association of British Insurers: Calculating your rebuild cost
• GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act
• Housing Act 2004, section 215
• GOV.UK: Income Tax when you rent out a property