Freeholder including their rental insurance in buildings insurance - Should I be paying half?

Ed_27

Hi, new to the perils of leaseholding and looking for advice.

• My freeholder is taking out buildings insurance.
• The freeholder owns the flat below which is rented out (we are a building of two).
• I am an owner occupier but the buildings insurance includes tenants insurance and income protection of 100k.

The costs are being divided in half. I would like to dispute these costs as my risk & requirements are considerably less, do I have right to do so?

Cheers in advance!

da_rule

It may depend on whether it also covers him should you fail to pay your ground rent/service charge.

Ed_27

HI, thanks for the quick reply. The policy seems to be largely concerned about the landlord (my freeholder) and tenant. The only mention of me I can find is (and doesn't seem to meet your flagged requirements):

"Mortgagees and other interests
The interest of the leaseholder(s), mortgagee(s) and
tenant(s) in the individual portions of the property is noted
and should be advised to us in the event of a claim.
In addition, your interest or the interest of the mortgagee(s)
under this insurance will not be prejudiced by any act or
neglect of the occupiers or mortgagors of any property
where the risk of damage is increased without your or the
mortgagees authority or knowledge. Provided that once
you or the mortgagees are aware of the increased risk, you
must give us written notice as soon as possible and pay any
additional premium that we may require."

eddddy

When you say income protection, do you mean loss of rent if the flat becomes uninhabitable due to an insured risk (e.g. the building burns down)?

If so, if the building burns down, the insurers would be paying loss of rent to your neighbour, and the insurers would pay for alternative accommodation for you.

So you both have roughly equal benefits.

Ed_27

@eddddy Thanks so much for the quick reply and the advice.

Sachs

These things may or may not cover the OP but that's not relevant if he doesn't want and is not obliged to take the coverage. Your lease should make it clear what you're obliged to pay for and anything else is negotiated. In my experience, it's more likely you're only obliged to contribute to the buildings insurance.