What Is Landlord Contents Insurance?
Landlord contents insurance covers the moveable items you own inside a rental property, including furniture, appliances, carpets, curtains, and soft furnishings. It protects against theft, fire, flood, vandalism, and accidental damage, and is strongly recommended for any furnished or part-furnished let.
Contents cover is separate from buildings insurance, which protects the bricks-and-mortar structure. Your policy only covers items you own as the landlord, so tenants still need their own contents insurance for personal belongings.
Below we explain what a contents policy covers, when you actually need one, and how to avoid the most common mistakes landlords make when insuring their rental property.
A policy costs £50 to £150 a year, but replacing furniture and appliances after a fire can top £10,000. The biggest trap is underinsuring: insure for half the replacement cost and your insurer can halve every claim payout. Calculate the full new-for-old value and photograph everything.
Set the right sum insured when you compare landlord insurance quotes.
What does landlord contents insurance cover?
A landlord contents policy covers items you provide to tenants that are not permanently fixed to the building. Most policies cover damage from fire, flood, storm, theft, and vandalism as standard.
Standard and optional cover
Accidental damage cover is usually an optional extra that adds around 10–20% to the premium. Without it, only damage from named perils is covered.
If you let a furnished HMO with expensive communal furniture, accidental damage cover is worth adding. Malicious damage by tenants is sometimes included as standard but often requires a police report before the insurer will pay out.
Flood and storm damage are covered as standard perils on most policies. The ABI reports that flood claims remain one of the costliest categories for property insurers, so check whether your area carries a higher excess for flood-related losses.
What counts as contents?
| Covered (your contents) | Not covered (tenant or fixed) |
| Sofas, beds, dining tables | Tenant personal belongings |
| Freestanding white goods | Built-in kitchen units |
| Curtains, blinds, carpets | Fitted bathroom suite |
| Televisions, electronics | Central heating boiler |
| Kitchenware, crockery | Walls, roof, floors (structure) |
| Garden furniture | Fences, gates, outbuildings |
Anything permanently attached to the building falls under buildings insurance instead. If you own the property and furnish it, you may need both buildings and contents cover, and a combined landlord policy is often cheaper than buying them separately.
Related: What Does Landlord Insurance Cover?
Is landlord contents insurance a legal requirement?
No, there is no law that forces landlords to buy contents insurance. Your mortgage lender will almost certainly require buildings insurance, but contents cover is your decision.
When you might still need it
If you lease furniture or appliances through a finance agreement, the finance company may require you to insure those items. Check your tenancy obligations and any hire-purchase terms before assuming you can skip cover.
Even without a legal or contractual requirement, a single kitchen fire could destroy every item you own in the property. Replacing a full set of furniture and appliances in a buy-to-let can easily cost £10,000 or more.
Related: Do I Need Landlord Insurance?
Which type of let needs contents insurance?
Whether you need contents cover depends almost entirely on how the property is furnished. Furnished and part-furnished lets benefit most; unfurnished lets may not need it at all.
Furnished, part-furnished, and unfurnished
| Let type | Contents risk | Cover recommended? |
| Fully furnished | High — full set of furniture, appliances, soft furnishings | Yes |
| Part-furnished | Medium — white goods, carpets, curtains only | Yes |
| Unfurnished | Low — possibly just a cooker or carpets | Only if items worth >£1,000 |
For a fully furnished let property, the replacement cost after a fire or flood could run well above £10,000. A contents policy costing £50–£150 a year provides protection for a relatively small outlay.
If you manage a block of flats or multiple properties with different furnishing levels, you can usually tailor the contents sum insured on each property rather than paying for a blanket cover you don’t need.
How much contents cover do you need?
Calculate the total replacement cost of every item you own in the property at current new-for-old prices. That total is the sum insured your policy needs.
How to calculate your sum insured
Go through each room and list everything you own: furniture, appliances, flooring, curtains, kitchenware, and electronics. Use current retail prices, not what you originally paid.
Photograph every item with a date stamp. Dated photographs speed up claims settlement and prevent disputes about what was in the property at the time of loss.
The underinsurance trap
If you insure for £10,000 but the actual replacement cost is £20,000, the insurer can apply average and only pay 50% of any claim. Always insure for the full replacement value and review your inventory annually, particularly if the cost of landlord insurance has shifted with inflation.
Underinsuring is one of the most common and costly mistakes landlords make. Our guide to how much landlord insurance costs explains how premiums are calculated so you can set the right sum insured from the start.
Related: What Factors Affect the Cost of Landlord Insurance?
How do you choose the right contents policy?
Compare policies from specialist landlord insurers based on cover limits, excess levels, whether accidental damage is included, and any loss-of-rent provision.
Key policy features to compare
The excess is typically £100–£500 per claim. A higher excess reduces the premium but means more out of pocket on each claim.
If you want to keep costs down, our guide to cheaper landlord insurance covers several ways to reduce your premium without cutting cover.
Loss-of-rent cover is worth checking. Some policies include it as standard, while others charge extra.
If an insured event makes the property uninhabitable, or leaves it unoccupied during repairs, this cover replaces the rental income you lose in the meantime.
Tax relief on premiums
Landlord contents insurance premiums are fully tax-deductible against your rental income, including the Insurance Premium Tax at 12%. HMRC treats insurance as an allowable property expense, so keep your premium receipts for your self-assessment return.
A combined buildings and contents policy is often cheaper than two separate covers and avoids gaps between policies. If you already have buildings insurance, ask your provider about adding contents to the same policy.
If you’re not sure which provider offers the best value, our guide to choosing the best landlord insurance provider walks through what to look for.
Related: How Do You Choose the Best Landlord Insurance Provider?
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
No, standard home insurance is designed for owner-occupied properties and typically excludes homes let to tenants. You need a specialist landlord contents policy that accounts for tenant occupation and the additional risks involved.
Accidental damage by tenants is covered if you have added accidental damage cover to your policy. Deliberate or malicious damage may be covered under a separate malicious damage extension, though some policies require a police report before paying out.
Yes, the full cost of your landlord insurance premiums is a deductible business expense against rental income. HMRC classes it as an allowable property expense, so keep your receipts for your self-assessment return.
Buildings insurance covers the permanent structure and fixed elements such as walls, roof, fitted kitchen, and boiler. Contents insurance covers moveable items you provide, including furniture, appliances, and soft furnishings, as explained in our guide to landlord buildings insurance.
Probably not, unless you own items of value in the property such as a cooker, fridge, or carpets. Most unfurnished landlords rely on buildings insurance only.
Premiums typically range from £50 to £150 a year for a standard furnished let, depending on the sum insured, property location, and excess level. Our guide to how much landlord insurance costs breaks down the main pricing factors.