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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.

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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.
  • Get 25% off your cheapest premium when you add a second property to your policy. Residential properties only. Minimum premiums apply. Excludes optional extras. Discount will be applied automatically.
  • 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 ARAG Businesslaw. Document services and 24/7 Helpline provided by ARAG 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 ARAG Businesslaw required. Services provided by ARAG 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 ARAG 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 unexpected events such as flood, fire, burst pipes, or storms.

You can also choose from several optional covers, such as accidental damage, loss of rent, landlord emergency, and legal expenses cover, which cover the costs and expenses associated with a range of legal matters, including contract disputes, tax and VAT investigations, repossession, and eviction of squatters.

What does landlord insurance cover in the UK?

Our award-winning landlord insurance offers high levels of standard cover for your building, fixtures and fittings, and contents. It also covers certain types of equipment like your boiler and heating systems with equipment breakdown cover. Plus, you have the option to increase limits and extend your cover if you need to. There's also the flexibility to lower your excess for a higher premium or increase your excess for a lower premium - whatever works for you.

Standard cover

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What's included as standard with our landlord insurance for your buildings:

  • Structural damage to the building - after an insured event such as fire, lightning, an explosion or earthquake, riot, civil disturbance, malicious damage caused by a person unlawfully on your property, storm, flood, subsidence, landslip and ground heave, impact, theft, escape of water.
  • Boiler and heating system cover - this is included as part of your equipment breakdown cover.
  • Damage caused by escape of water - including burst pipes, leaking water tanks, or escape of oil from any oil-fired heating installation.
  • The cost of temporary alternative accommodation for your tenants - this is available if the property isn't fit to live in after an insured event - such as a flood or fire. Cover is up to the building sum insured (rebuild value) on your policy.
  • Public Liability cover of £2million with the option to increase - if you're sued for damage to someone else's property or a tenant or tradesperson is injured after an accident at your rental property, you're covered. For example, if your tenant trips over an uneven patio stone, you'll be insured for the legal costs.
  • Glass and sanitary ware following breakage.
  • Locks and keys replacement - if keys are lost or if they're copied by an unauthorised person - up to £15,000 per claim.
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What's included as standard with our landlord insurance for your boiler:

  • Cover for the labour, parts and call-out charge costs for fixing or replacing a new boiler from breakdown caused by: expansion vessel failure, the heat exchanger cracking or rupturing, valves failing, seals leaking, a circuit board fault. This doesn't include the £200 excess that you'll need to pay.
  • Cover for the cost of supplying your tenants with portable heaters, which they can use until the boiler has been fixed or replaced.

What's not included with our landlord insurance for your boiler:

  • We will not be able to cover your boiler if the damage is due to wear or tear or is already covered or would have been covered under your maintenance agreement, warranty or guarantee, but is no longer covered because you have broken the terms of the agreement.
  • We do not offer a call out service.
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What's included as standard with our landlord insurance for your fixtures and fittings:

  • Permanent internal fixtures and fittings - including kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, sinks, internal doors, doorknobs and handles owned and provided by the leaseholder and not insured by any buildings insurance policy.
  • Up to £50,000 of cover - to replace the fixtures and fittings new for old.
  • Replacement locks up to £25,000 - in case they're broken due to a burglary or need replacing because the keys have been stolen.
  • Cover for damage to permanent internal fixtures that are not insured under the block of flats insurance policy covering the buildings if you are a leasehold landlord of a flat.
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What's included in our landlord insurance standard cover for your contents:

  • New-for-old contents insurance
  • Damage to fixtures and fittings that aren't part of the building - these include free-standing ovens, washing machines, fridges, beds, sofas and other free-standing items of furniture.
  • Floor coverings up to a value of £5,000 with an option to increase - includes carpet and lino.

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 your employees, tenants, and persons lawfully on the premises
  • 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 (rebuild value) 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.

    You can add Terrorism cover when you buy or renew your policy with us. This cover 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 get 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.

We also offer holiday or second home insurance if your property is rented out to paying guests or is left unoccupied for long periods of time.

How do I make a claim if a boiler breaks down in a rented property

  • The first thing you'll need to do is call out a Gas Safe registered heating engineer to look at the issue.
  • Then you'll need to send us a report from the Gas Safe registered heating engineer detailing how and why the boiler has broken down. We'll also need a quote or invoice for the boiler repair or replacement and a copy of the most up-to-date gas safety certificate.
  • Once we have this, we'll assess whether the breakdown is covered. If it is, we'll reimburse you for all the costs you have incurred in getting the boiler fixed or replaced, minus your £200 excess.
  • We can also deal with claims retrospectively as long as you have the engineer's report on the boiler problem to hand.
Start a landlord claim

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 sign in to your 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.

Landlord insurance frequently asked questions

The type of landlord insurance you need will differ depending on your requirements. There are three levels of landlord insurance: buildings, contents, and leaseholders' fixtures and fittings, which cover insured events such as fire, flood, or theft.

Buildings insurance covers damage to or loss of the property's structure. Contents insurance covers damage to or loss of the landlord's possessions, like furniture, left within the property.

Leaseholders' fixtures & fittings insurance 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 for a block of flats. You can combine your insurance cover, such as 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 into one and give you the peace of mind that all your properties are covered. You may also be eligible for multi-property discounts.

To get a quote, you need to enter your details and any past claims history, as well as the details of the property and the tenants you are renting to. You would need property details, including the rebuild value, age, and construction of the property.

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

It is not a legal requirement to have landlord insurance in the UK. However, it is highly recommended if you want to protect your property and finances. Some mortgage lenders may require landlords to have landlord insurance to come to a mortgage agreement.

If you can't see what you're looking for, go to our full list of Landlord FAQs.

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