Landlord and tenant: whose policy covers what
Short answer
The landlord’s insurance covers the structure and the landlord’s property, while the tenant’s own belongings and liability for damage they cause are covered only by a separate policy in the tenant’s name.
The two sides face different risks
The owner risks the building, the fixed installations and the furnishings that belong to them. The tenant risks their own things — electronics, clothes, tools — which the owner’s policy normally does not include. Each insures what they would lose.
Liability to the landlord and to the neighbours
If the tenant causes damage — a tap left running, a burnt-out appliance — it is claimed from them. A liability clause in the tenant’s own policy passes that risk to an insurer. Without it the conversation happens directly with the deposit and between the two parties.
What belongs in the tenancy agreement
Who takes out which policy is best written into the tenancy agreement rather than assumed. It is also the cheapest part of the whole question: one sentence in the contract that later saves a dispute over several thousand.
Frequently asked questions
- Can the owner require the tenant to insure?
- They can agree it in the tenancy agreement. That is common practice and needs no special form beyond the contract itself.
- What if the damage comes from a hidden defect of the building?
- Then liability normally sits with the owner, not the tenant. The cause of the damage decides who carries the risk.
Have a question? Call me.
[email protected]