What Is The Difference Between Landlord Insurance And Home Insurance?
Landlord insurance covers investment properties you rent to tenants, while home insurance covers the property you live in. They are separate products built for different risks, and standard home insurance will not cover a rental property.
If you rent out a property under a home insurance policy, your insurer will almost certainly reject any claim and cancel the cover. The risks of a rental property, including tenant damage, rent default, and liability to visitors, are fundamentally different from those of an owner-occupied home.
Below is a side-by-side breakdown of what each policy covers, why you can’t swap one for the other, and how to decide which type of landlord insurance you need.
Landlord insurance and home insurance are separate products, and you cannot use one for the other. If your insurer finds out you’re renting a property on a home policy, they’ll reject any claim and cancel the cover. Landlord insurance adds what home insurance doesn’t: loss of rent, property owners’ liability, and legal expenses for tenant disputes.
Compare landlord insurance quotes to make sure your rental property has the right cover in place.
What does landlord insurance cover?
Landlord insurance typically includes buildings cover, property owners’ liability, and loss of rent cover. Optional extras include contents cover for furnished lets, accidental damage, legal expenses, and rent guarantee insurance.
Core cover
Buildings insurance protects the structure, permanent fixtures, and fitted items like kitchens and bathrooms against fire, flood, storm, and subsidence. Property owners’ liability covers legal claims if someone is injured at your property due to your negligence, typically £1–£2 million as standard.
Loss of rent cover pays your rental income if the property becomes uninhabitable after an insured event like a fire or flood. This is separate from rent guarantee insurance, which pays if the tenant simply stops paying.
Optional extras
Contents cover protects items you provide in a furnished let property, including furniture, white goods, and curtains. Legal expenses cover pays solicitor costs for tenancy disputes and eviction proceedings.
Related: What Does Landlord Insurance Cover?
What does home insurance cover?
Home insurance covers your main residence and typically includes buildings cover, contents cover for your personal possessions, and basic occupier’s liability. It does not include any protections specific to renting out a property.
What is included
Buildings insurance covers the structure against the same perils as landlord buildings insurance: fire, flood, storm, and subsidence. Contents insurance covers your personal belongings including furniture, electronics, clothing, and jewellery.
Occupier’s liability provides basic cover for injuries to visitors at your home. This is far narrower than the property owners’ liability included in landlord insurance.
What is missing
Home insurance has no loss of rent cover because there is no rental income to protect. There is no tenant-related cover, so no protection against tenant damage, rent default, or tenancy disputes.
If you let a property, even temporarily, your home insurance policy will not respond to a claim. You need a dedicated landlord policy.
| Cover element | Landlord insurance | Home insurance |
| Buildings cover | Yes | Yes |
| Contents cover | Optional (for furnished lets) | Yes (personal belongings) |
| Property owners’ liability | Yes (£1–£2m) | No (occupier’s liability only) |
| Loss of rent | Yes | No |
| Rent guarantee | Optional add-on | No |
| Legal expenses | Optional add-on | No |
| Tenant damage cover | Yes (malicious damage) | No |
| Typical annual cost | £300–£800 | £150–£400 |
Why can you not use home insurance for a rental property?
Home insurance policies specifically exclude rental properties. Insurers price home insurance on the assumption that the owner lives in the property and maintains it daily, and renting introduces risks that home insurance does not account for.
Different risk profile
When you live in a property, you notice problems quickly: a dripping tap, a damp patch, a broken tile. When tenants occupy the property, issues can go unreported for weeks or months.
Tenants may also cause damage, stop paying rent, or create liability situations that home insurance does not cover. Insurers treat these as entirely different risk categories.
What happens if you get caught
If your insurer discovers you’re renting out a property covered by home insurance, they will cancel the policy and reject any pending claims. You’d then need to find new cover with a cancellation on your record, which makes future landlord insurance more expensive.
When switching to landlord insurance, use the FCA’s insurance product information document format to compare policies side by side. This makes it easier to spot gaps in cover before you commit.
Related: Do I Need Landlord Insurance?
Do you need buildings insurance, contents insurance, or both?
If you have a buy-to-let mortgage, your lender will require buildings insurance as a condition of the loan. Whether you also need contents cover depends on whether the property is furnished.
Buildings cover for landlords
Even without a mortgage, landlord buildings insurance is strongly recommended. Rebuilding costs after a fire or major structural damage can run into tens of thousands of pounds.
Your government obligations as a landlord don’t include mandatory insurance, but the financial risk of going without it makes it a necessity for most landlords.
Contents cover for landlords
You need landlord contents cover if you provide a furnished or part-furnished property. It covers items you own and provide to the tenant: furniture, white goods, carpets, and curtains.
Your tenants’ personal belongings are not covered by your policy. They need their own contents insurance to protect their possessions.
Related: What Is Landlord Insurance?
How much more does landlord insurance cost?
Landlord insurance typically costs £300 to £800 per year compared to £150 to £400 for home insurance. The higher price reflects greater risks: tenant damage, rent default, liability claims, and the fact that rental properties are often unoccupied between tenancies.
What drives the price difference
The factors that affect your premium include property type, tenant profile, location, and claims history. An HMO or holiday let costs noticeably more than a standard single-household buy-to-let.
Reducing your landlord insurance costs
Shopping around at renewal, increasing your excess, and improving property security can cut your premium by 15–40%. For a full breakdown of savings methods, see our guide to getting cheaper landlord insurance.
If you own multiple rental properties, a multi-property policy or a block of flats policy is almost always cheaper than insuring each one separately.
Related: How Much Is Landlord Insurance?
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Your claim will be rejected and your policy will likely be cancelled. You’ll then need to find new insurance with a cancellation on your record, which makes future cover more expensive.
Yes, landlord insurance typically costs £300 to £800 per year compared to £150 to £400 for home insurance. The higher cost reflects greater risks including tenant damage, rent default, and liability claims.
If you have a mortgage, your lender will require buildings insurance. Contents insurance is only needed if you provide furnished or part-furnished accommodation, so unfurnished lets may only need buildings cover.
No, your landlord contents insurance only covers items you own and provide. Your tenants’ personal belongings are not covered, so they need their own contents insurance to protect their possessions.
No, but almost all buy-to-let mortgage lenders require it as a condition of the loan. Even without a mortgage, it’s strongly recommended given the financial risk of rebuilding.