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Landlord insurance

Save money when you add multiple properties to one policy

Each property will get a minimum 25% discount, apart from the property with the highest-priced cover.

You can insure up to 15 residential properties. This excludes optional add-ons. Minimum premiums apply. Discount(s) will be applied automatically.

Best Landlord Insurance Provider 2024 logo

We're proud to have won Best Landlord Insurance Provider at the What Mortgage Awards 2024.

Here's what our customers have to say about Direct Line Landlord insurance.

  • No admin fees if you make changes to your policy.
  • Insure up to 15 residential properties with one renewal date.
  • 0% interest if you pay by instalments in the first year.
    Subject to eligibility, over 18s only.
  • Start a Landlord claim without the need to call.
  • Legal documents service, business guides and 24/7 legal advice helpline as standard via DAS Businesslaw. Document services and 24/7 Helpline provided by DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Limited. For uncommon and certain country-specific areas of law, you'll be referred to specialist advisors available Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, excluding bank holidays.

24/7 Legal advice line for landlords

Whether you're facing a legal problem or just want to check something with a solicitor, you'll get access to a team of experts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as standard.

a stitched grey house featuring a red roof and five red windows meant to represent the kind of property a landlord might need to insure.

Registration with DAS Businesslaw required. Services provided by DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Limited. For uncommon and certain country-specific areas of law, the 24/7 helpline will refer you to specialist advisers available Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, excluding bank holidays.

Find out more about DAS Businesslaw.

What is landlord insurance?

Landlord insurance covers the risks you face when letting or leasing a property that standard building and contents insurance may not cover. Also known as buy-to-let insurance, it covers you for damage to the buildings or to your contents against a range of perils such as flood, fire, burst pipes or storm. You can also choose from several optional covers like accidental damage, loss of rent, landlord emergency and legal expenses cover which covers the costs and expenses in dealing with a range of legal matters such as contract disputes, tax and VAT investigations, repossession and eviction of squatters.

What does landlord insurance cover in the UK?

Our landlord Insurance offers high levels of standard cover, plus options to increase limits and extend your cover if you need to. You also have the flexibility to lower your excess for a higher premium, or increase your excess for a lower premium, whatever works for you.

Standard cover

The following cover types are included in our landlord insurance, as standard:

  • Buildings Insurance, including Boiler Cover
  • New-for-old Contents Insurance, including Replacement Locks Cover
  • Public Liability cover of £2m, with the option to increase. So if you're sued for damage to someone else's property, or injury to your tenants as a result of your rental property, you're covered.
  • Glass and Sanitary Ware
  • Floor Coverings (up to £5k, with an option to increase)
  • Alternative Accommodation

    We'll pay to re-house your tenants following an insured event such as a flood or fire, subject to policy limits.

    *Either buildings OR contents is standard, not both.

  • Fixtures and Fittings Cover

    Are you a leasehold landlord of a flat? This covers you for damage to permanent internal fixtures that are not insured under the block of flat insurance policy covering the buildings.

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Optional cover

For an additional premium, you can add any of these covers to your landlord insurance policy:

  • Landlord Emergency - if there's an insured emergency at your rented property, we'll send out a contractor to deal with the problem.
  • Legal Expenses - covers the cost of defending your legal rights. Includes Repossession Cover, Nuisance and Eviction of Squatters Cover, and Tax Protection.
  • Rent Guarantee - As part of Legal Expenses, add Rent Guarantee to cover unpaid rent if your tenant or ex-tenant is still in your residential property.
  • Loss of Rent - this covers lost income if your property becomes uninhabitable following an insured event, such as a fire or a flood.
  • Accidental Damage for buildings and/or contents when you've insured them.
  • Employers' Liability - this covers you if an employee makes a claim against you for a work-related injury.
  • Theft by Tenant Cover.
  • Malicious Damage by Tenants.
  • You can extend your policy to help protect your rental property against damage caused by acts of terrorism. We'll cover you up to the maximum sum insured on your policy for buildings, contents and/or loss of rental income. Acts of terrorism are defined as damage caused by someone acting on behalf of, or in connection with, any organisation which uses force or violence to overthrow or influence the UK government.

    Terrorism cover is not available for properties that are located in the Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Northern Ireland.

    Terrorism insurance is an optional cover so an additional premium will apply.

    You can include Terrorism cover to your policy by either processing this online or calling us on 0345 301 5066 when you take out your policy with us or at renewal as it cannot be added to your policy mid-term.

Do I need landlord insurance?

A standard building and contents insurance policy is unlikely to cover tenant activity in your rented property. So, if you want to safeguard your income, it's important to obtain specialist landlord insurance.

Although landlord insurance isn't a legal obligation, most buy-to-let mortgage lenders will require you to take out insurance before your tenants move in.

Landlord insurance policy documents

When you get a quote, we'll send you a personalised policy document that shows the cover you've chosen.

These can also be found when you log into My Account.

Here you can find examples of our latest landlord insurance documents which show the main covers we offer, plus exclusions.

To make sure you download the right document, please select the dates that cover the period you bought or renewed your policy and the latest version of the document will be displayed.

Frequently asked questions

The type of landlord insurance that you need will differ depending on your requirements. There are three key cover levels of landlord insurance - Buildings, Contents and Leaseholders Fixtures & Fittings. Buildings Insurance provides cover for damage to, or loss of, the property's structure. Contents covers damage to, or loss of, landlord's possessions left within the property, like furniture. Leaseholders Fixtures & Fittings cover covers the fixed fittings within a property, like Bathroom suites or kitchen units, where cover is excluded under the main buildings insurance policy which has been arranged such as a for a block of flats. You can combine your insurance covers like Buildings and Contents if you need to cover both the property structure and possessions in the property.

You can add extra properties to the same policy, a multi-property insurance policy could help you consolidate your renewal dates to one and give you the peace of mind that all your properties are covered, you may also be eligible for multi-property discounts.

To obtain a quote you need to enter your details, any past claims history together with the details of the property and the tenants you are renting too. Property details you would need include the rebuild value, the age and construction of the property.

In most cases, home insurance will not be sufficient to cover a rented property. This is because you are not living in the property and renting your property for an income is a business. Some of the risks you may face will be different, for instance, you could be liable if a tenant hurt themselves in your property due to the property being unsafe or your tenant might purposely damage the property.

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