tenant's content insurance

westy_1981

Hi all

We've found a great property to rent - credit checks etc carried out and come back fine. However, received a letter today stating that;

"Before commencement of the tenancy, we will require you to provide proof of adequate insurance to cover both your belongings together with specialist insurance to cover any accidental damage to the Landlord's fixtures and fittings."

None of the above was communicated to us prior to the checks being done or paying a hefty admin charge. The letter also refers to a company called Homelet and how they can offer a preferential rate for us. The deposit for the property will be 1.5 x rent = £1200.

Has anybody else experienced this? If we refuse are they within their rights to refuse to allow us to rent the property? Is it just worth taking it and paying about £20ish a month insurance to cover the requirements?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Emmylou_2

Contents insurance, including accidental damage, is definitely worth it.

Obviously follow Martin's guide, we did and this year we're insured with Tesco (contents only plus accidental damage) for £66 :money:.

Last year we were paying £200.

(We're two single 30-something sharers, in a 2 bed ground floor flat in Bristol)

Meatballs

westy_1981 wrote: »

Hi all

We've found a great property to rent - credit checks etc carried out and come back fine. However, received a letter today stating that;

"Before commencement of the tenancy, we will require you to provide proof of adequate insurance to cover both your belongings together with specialist insurance to cover any accidental damage to the Landlord's fixtures and fittings."

None of the above was communicated to us prior to the checks being done or paying a hefty admin charge. The letter also refers to a company called Homelet and how they can offer a preferential rate for us. The deposit for the property will be 1.5 x rent = £1200.

Has anybody else experienced this? If we refuse are they within their rights to refuse to allow us to rent the property? Is it just worth taking it and paying about £20ish a month insurance to cover the requirements?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

You can sign up and then cancel insurance policies with the 14 day cool off period. Probably the easiest option.

There is no obligation to get your own contents insurance or insure the LLs property - the OFT states that this is an unfair clause in a tenancy agreement. So when you have cancelled you dont need to get another (but it is advisable to get your own contents insurance).

You don't have any rights to property till you've signed on the AST, so they can refuse you. LL might be !!!!ed off if he found out they were refusing tenants though so if you can contact direct...

If they did refuse you you could get your admin fee back because they didn't inform you about the insurance check beforehand (but be sure it wasn't on anything you signed previously). Because the OFT says that it is an unfair clause on tenancy agreements that should work in your favour. But it might still be a PITA to do!

westlondonbuyer

There's no legal obligation to have contents insurance whatsoever, but you'd be daft not to spend £200 (or less - shop around) on insuring your own belongings. Your landlord's possessions are his/her problem, and should be covered by his/her landlord insurance (though lots of landlords don't have this!)

Having said that, if you had a policy that did cover you for accidental damage to your landlord's property (Endsleigh has this clause in some of their policies, I know) it could save a big old chunk of your deposit should you have an accidental spill on a sofa or carpet.

Brb

Yes it is deemed an unfair term by OFT but it is still a very good idea to do.

I had a private rented house flood (defective plumbing) a couple of years back. We lost everything downstairs. At the time I was insured through Royal Sun Alliance for LLs soft furnishings too. I got it through the AA (who I have found very good to haggle with). Even though I was only insured for soft furnishings my claim handler allowed the £75 I paid within hours of flood to get water pumped out and also the LLs aerial booster system (electric) as it failed PAT test. Be aware though, if LL has carpets insured then LL insurance has to cover it, in the event of a claim they will want a copy of your AST.

Couple of years down the line after a 10k claim my policy cost £96 after a bit of haggling (might have been less actually but was back in feb I renewed).

clutton_2

""Your landlord's possessions are his/her problem, and should be covered by his/her landlord insurance (though lots of landlords don't have this!)""

And just how do you know this ?

There are over one million private sector landlords in E&W - how many do you know ? or have you commissoined MORI to do a poll for you ?

Or is this just another example of speculative landlord-bashing... again....

Meatballs

Directline must think so with their marketing strategy atm Remember it's a consumer 'revenge' website there's always going to be more negatives than positives. (My last LL was great )

clutton_2

""Directline must think so with their marketing strategy atm ""

thats the daftest thing i have read today.... Directline are going into a new market - that of LL insurance... they are advertising a new product... how on EARTH do you deduce from that that lots of landlords dont have insurance.....

ANY landlord with a mortgagge HAS to have insurance - its a compulsory term of his mortgage... if he does not buy it.. the Lender can buy some and then charge the LL for admin costs for doing so on top of the insurance premium....

(shakes head in utter disbelief )

theartfullodger

clutton wrote: »

. how on EARTH do you deduce from that that lots of landlords dont have insurance....

I was at a Landlord forum last month - quite good, about 60 attendees (Mainly Landlords plus the usual collection of shysters & get-rich-quick-scheme floggers..). A (quite good) accountant gave a short pitch on matters of interest including various options for Landlord's insurance: At the break I was in the gents for the usual... & overhead one Landlord say to another (So, do you have this "Landlord Insurance" then??).

(shakes head in utter disbelief )

.
I know, I know...

westlondonbuyer

clutton wrote: »

""Directline must think so with their marketing strategy atm ""

thats the daftest thing i have read today.... Directline are going into a new market - that of LL insurance... they are advertising a new product... how on EARTH do you deduce from that that lots of landlords dont have insurance.....

Don't you think Directline did their research before booking an expensive advertising campaign? I happen to know the agency directors who headed up this campaign, so I also know that non-institutional landlords who are fully insured are actually a very small minority. Plus, yes, anecdotally, I know a lot of landlords. In my previous building I was one of 34 landlords and was the only one to have landlord insurance (admittedly that may have been because I wasn't rich enough to take the risks they were prepared to accept).

clutton wrote: »

ANY landlord with a mortgagge HAS to have insurance - its a compulsory term of his mortgage... if he does not buy it.. the Lender can buy some and then charge the LL for admin costs for doing so on top of the insurance premium....

(shakes head in utter disbelief )

I think you're getting confused between buildings insurance and contents insurance. There is no legal obligation for anyone in this country to have contents insurance. There is also no legal obligation to have landlord's insurance.

clutton_2

""There is also no legal obligation to have landlord's insurance. ""

wrong.. - if you have a BTL mortgage product it is a T&C that you have appropriate insurance - ie BTL insurance......... many policies include some degree of contents such as floor coverings and white goods...

so from your knowledge of 34 landlords you extrapolate that most landlords dont have proper insurance....

sighs - again......