Stay on the safe side

A recent survey found that almost 20% of landlords are not properly ensuring their rented properties, instead relying on standard home insurance policies. It seems like a simple way to cover yourself, but there are a number of pitfalls.

Read the small print and you will see that not only do most of those policies specifically exclude properties permanently rented out, but they're also missing a few areas of cover essential to landlords.

One of the most likely issues with rented property is water ingress or flooding which may require a tenant to be housed elsewhere until the problem is fixed. This is something landlord policies will cover, but ordinary home insurance usually doesn't.

A solid landlord insurance policy will also cover public liability insurance for the landlord. Why do you need that? It covers injuries sustained on your property and damage to neighbouring property. In practice, the Cullen Property team has seen claims varying from a tenant attempting to pull cupboards of a wall, which fell onto him and hurt his back to a postman slipping and falling in a communal stairway and claiming against every flat in the stairway.

As a worst case scenario, regular home insurers may refuse claims outright when they discover a property has been rented out without their permission.

Looking on the bright side, there are plenty of great deals available as it's a very competitive market. Shop around for a good deal - it won't take too long.