This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Compare policies before purchasing.
Standard home insurance policies exclude properties rented to tenants. If you let a property without telling your insurer, your cover is void. A landlord-specific policy is not optional; it is a condition of every BTL mortgage, and without it, you carry the full financial risk of a flood, fire, or liability claim.
Premiums for a standard single-let BTL property run from £200 to £500 per year depending on location, property type, and cover level. HMO policies cost 30% to 50% more because of the additional risks from multiple occupants and shared facilities.
Buildings insurance
Buildings insurance covers the physical structure: walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchens and bathrooms, and permanent fixtures. It pays out for damage from fire, flood, storm, subsidence, and similar events.
Your BTL mortgage lender requires buildings insurance as a condition of the loan. The minimum cover amount should match the rebuild cost (not the market value). The rebuild cost appears on your most recent valuation or can be estimated using the BCIS rebuild cost calculator from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Buildings insurance is the one element you cannot skip.
Landlord contents insurance
If you let a furnished or part-furnished property, contents insurance covers your items: furniture, white goods, carpets, curtains, and any appliances you supply. It does not cover the tenant's belongings (tenants need their own contents policy).
For unfurnished lets, you may still want contents cover for items like carpets, light fittings, and smoke alarms. Some policies cover accidental damage by tenants, though excess amounts tend to be higher than on standard home contents policies.
Premiums vary from £50 to £200 per year depending on the value of contents and the cover limit.
Property owners' liability
This covers you if a tenant, visitor, or contractor is injured at the property due to a defect. A tenant slips on a broken step and breaks their wrist. A contractor falls through a rotten floor. A visitor trips on a loose carpet.
Claims can run to six figures. Most landlord policies include £2 million to £5 million of liability cover as standard. Some lenders require a minimum of £2 million.
Rent guarantee insurance
Rent guarantee insurance pays your rental income if the tenant stops paying or if the property is unoccupied after an insured event. Policies typically cover 6 to 12 months of lost rent.
Premiums range from £150 to £300 per year for a single-let property. Most policies require you to have conducted proper tenant referencing before the tenancy started, with the tenant meeting minimum income and credit criteria. If you skip referencing, the insurer will reject a claim.
This cover is optional but worth considering. A tenant who stops paying rent while you pursue a Section 8 possession claim can leave you carrying mortgage payments for six months or more with no income.
Legal expenses cover
Legal expenses insurance funds the cost of solicitors and court proceedings for possession claims, tenancy disputes, and defence of prosecution under housing legislation. Premiums run from £50 to £100 per year.
Given that a contested Section 8 eviction can cost £3,000 to £5,000 in legal fees, this add-on pays for itself with a single claim. Most policies use panel solicitors, so you may not have a choice of who represents you.
Unoccupied property insurance
Standard landlord policies exclude properties left empty for more than 30 to 60 consecutive days (check your policy). If you are refurbishing between tenancies or struggling to let, you need to notify your insurer or take out specific unoccupied property cover.
Empty property cover costs more (£300 to £600/year) and comes with conditions: regular inspections, water turned off or drained in winter, letterbox cleared.
What you can skip
Not every add-on is good value. Accidental damage cover often carries high excesses that make small claims uneconomical. Home emergency cover (boiler breakdown, burst pipes) overlaps with boiler maintenance contracts that may be cheaper to source separately. Terrorism cover is included in most commercial policies but rarely claimed on residential BTLs.
Evaluate each add-on against its excess, coverage limit, and likelihood of a claim rather than bundling everything by default.
HMO insurance
HMO properties attract higher premiums because of increased wear, fire risk from multiple cooking appliances, higher occupancy, and the licensing compliance requirements. Specialist HMO insurers (Just Landlords, CIA Landlords, Alan Boswell) offer tailored policies that include employers' liability cover (required if you employ cleaners or maintenance staff) and specific HMO conditions.
Expect to pay £400 to £800 per year for an HMO policy depending on the number of bedrooms, occupants, and property type.
Sources
- ABI, "Landlord insurance". https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/choosing-the-right-insurance/home-insurance/landlord-insurance/ [Accessed 6 May 2026]
- NRLA, "An introduction to landlord insurance". https://www.nrla.org.uk/resources/an-introduction-to-landlord-insurance [Accessed 6 May 2026]