Rent Guarantee Insurance (2024)

Rent guarantee insurance is a form of protection for landlords. It can include cover for properties that are:

• Left unoccupied for a period of time between tenants
• Uninhabitable due to renovation work, malicious damage or disasters like fire and flooding

We don't currently offer this kind of cover. But we do offer tenant default cover - also referred to as rent protection insurance - as an add-on to a landlord insurancepolicy. Tenant default cover differs to rent guarantee as it's designed to pay you the rent you’re owed, if you decide to evict tenants who are behind on the rent.

We've partnered with Simply Business to help find you the cover you need. Read on to find out more about tenant default cover, or get a quote to see your options for landlord policies that include tenant default cover.

Tenant default covers the monthly rental payment if your tenant doesn’t pay. We've partnered with Simply Business to compare insurers and find a policy to suit your needs. All policies differ, but if you buy through us you get:

• Up to £50,000, with no monthly rental limit
• Lost rent for up to 12 months
• Up to £50,000 towards legal expenses

You don’t have to pay an excess if you need to claim on tenant default cover when bought through us.

Because tenant default covers the property and not the tenant, you should still be covered if new tenants move in, as long as:

• The new tenants have passed the usual checks
• There’s a new tenancy agreement in place

You can get tenant default insurance alongside legal expenses insurance when you compare quotes with us. Legal expenses insurancecovers:

• Repossessing the property
• Evicting tenants
• Recovering missed rent payments (known as rent arrears)
• Access to legal advice

Along with legal expenses cover, you also need to have property owners’ liability insurance when you get tenant default insurance.

Property owners’ liability insurance provides cover if a tenant or visitor seeks compensation for injury or for damage to their possessions at your rental property. You can choose between £2 million and £5 million of property owners’ liability cover.

There’s certain things that rent guarantee insurance doesn't cover:

• Commercial properties
• Selling the property
• Certain types of tenant
• Tenants moving out
• Tenants were already behind on rent payments (in arrears) before you bought the policy
• More than one tenancy agreement at a single property
• Lodgers or Airbnb guests

• Commercial properties: Places like offices or workplaces. When you get a quote, select 'commercial insurance' to add rental income protection to your policy.

• Selling the property: Your tenant default payments stop when you put the property on the market, since it’s assumed no rent is meant to be coming in.

• Certain types of tenant: For example students or the unemployed are often not covered as they’re viewed as being at a higher risk of defaulting.

• Tenants moving out : This includes if the tenants leave voluntarily or are evicted. You aren't covered while you find a new tenant.

• Tenants were already behind on rent payments (in arrears) before you bought the policy: When your tenants fall into arrears, you usually have around 60 days to make a claim on an existing insurance policy. You can't buy a policy to cover an issue that's already happening.

• More than one tenancy agreement at a single property: If you have multiple tenant agreements, you need a separate policy for each tenancy to stay covered.

• Lodgers or Airbnb guests: Lodgersdon’t have a legal rental contract, so it can be difficult to enforce any kind of legal guarantee for payment or recovering money. Airbnb paymentsshould be automatic, and any further disputes can be taken up directly with Airbnb through AirCover. Or if you want more financial protection for your property, you can get a quote and compare Airbnb insurance with us.

Contract disputes aren’t included as part of tenant default cover. But they’re usually covered by the legal expenses insurance.

When you start the policy could also affect when you can claim. If you got your insurance before the tenancy agreement was signed, you’re usually unable to claim on the policy for 90 days. This varies between providers, so check before you buy.

Get a quote