For a let-out flat, insurance comes down to two things: does the insurer know a tenant lives in the property, and is it clearly divided who protects what. Notifying the insurer isn't a formality, a deposit isn't insurance - and a tenant's belongings aren't your policy's business. Let's go through the landlord setup step by step.
- Letting is a change you must notify: how a property is used is a risk factor, and not disclosing it can backfire at claim time.
- Your cover: the building plus furnishings left behind. A tenant's belongings are the tenant's business - worth putting in writing in the tenancy agreement too.
- A deposit covers minor wear and tear and is quickly used up on a real claim; expect typically case-by-case assessment for short-term lets.
First step: notify the insurer you're letting the property
Insurers also gauge risk by how a property is used: policy terms typically treat a permanently occupied home, a let-out flat and an empty one differently. That makes letting a change you need to notify - our reporting-changes article covers the process. Staying silent is a bad trade: an inaccurate risk disclosure can lead to a reduced or refused payout at claim time, while notifying it is typically a quick, simple step. A few details are all it takes: since when, to whom, and under what arrangement you're letting the property - in return, there's no dispute at claim time about how it's being used.
What should you insure as a landlord?
The assets to protect are the building, any fitted elements, and furnishings left in the property: kitchen appliances, and in a furnished let, the furniture too. It's worth keeping a photographed inventory of the latter - useful both when you let the property and at claim time. A tenant's own belongings, though, aren't your policy's territory: in a well-set-up arrangement, the tenant has their own cover, and this can even be required in the tenancy agreement. Where available, landlord-specific add-ons - legal-expenses cover or cover for lost rental income, for instance - can also be worth considering, on well-understood terms. Size the sums insured to your own assets: for the building, the real rebuilding value is the right starting point, for the furnishings left behind, the inventory value.
Damage caused by a tenant, and the deposit
If a tenant causes damage to the building, there are two possible routes: your own insurer can pay the covered claim and then pursue the person responsible, or the tenant's liability cover can step in. Either route is cleaner than a dispute over deductions from the deposit: the deposit is meant for settling minor wear and tear, and falls short for anything more serious. That's exactly why it's worth setting out in two sentences in the tenancy agreement who insures what - those two sentences head off plenty of late disputes, and neither side ends up assuming the other's policy will simply cover everything. That way the deposit can become what it's meant to be: a simple tool for settling small items.
Short-term lets and the empty weeks
Short-term, guest-style letting is a different risk profile: frequently changing occupants, more intensive use - insurers typically handle this with case-by-case assessment or separate terms, so it's essential to check with the insurer before you start. For a longer empty stretch between two tenants, the rules on unoccupancy can also come into play - our extended-absence article covers that.
If the situation is more complex - several flats, mixed use - let's talk it through in 20 minutes: setting it up properly is quick, a dispute is not.
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