Being forced to take an insurance to rent

Uriziel

I have recently started renting a room with only a bed and a wardrobe and a few days later I get a call from a company telling me that they have been told to call me by the agency to set up an insurance and when I said that I am not interested they said that this is part of my tenancy agreement. I have been renting for several years in London and have never seen this before.
It looks like there is a paragraph stating that I must take out an insurance for accidental damage to the landlord's property even though they have my deposit already. This is very clearly nothing more than scam which the agency will receive commission for.

I have no interest in the insurance and I wouldn't be surprised if this was illegal. A tenancy agreement is not law irrelevant of whether it was signed or not.
The agency has completely failed to mention this additional cost to me and I was under the impression that I would only be paying the rent and no other charges. I very much doubt this would hold up in court considering a few years ago they released a new law to get rid of various "admin" charges agencies fabricated.

Can anyone please confirm whether this is actually legal and if I really are required to comply?
If it really comes to it I will be ensuring that I go to another insurance company, even if it is more expensive, just so that they do not receive their commission.

canaldumidi

Are you a tenant or a lodger? ie do you share with your landlord? Or is this an HMO?

If a tenant, you have a lot of security, so just ignore. Very hard to either evict you or enforce the insurance clause.

If you are a lodger, you have less security so I suppose the LL might evict if you refuse (though seems a stupid reason to do so).

ps - learning lesson: always read contracts before signing them!

SpiderLegs

Well you signed the tenancy agreement so you can’t really argue that you weren't told about it

But regardless, they can’t force you to take out insurance (and for something which you have no insurable interest in).

emmajones1976

You may find that the landlord issues you notice to quit at the end of the tenancy (how long is it?), but other than that nothing else is going to happen given the current backlog in the courts.

Uriziel

SpiderLegs said:

Well you signed the tenancy agreement so you can’t really argue that you weren't told about it

But regardless, they can’t force you to take out insurance (and for something which you have no insurable interest in).

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tenant-fees-act

The aim of the Act is to reduce the costs that tenants can face at the outset, and throughout, a tenancy. Tenants will be able to see, at a glance, what a given property will cost them in the advertised rent with no hidden costs.

Could you please head over to Rightmove and show not only me but the entire country how you view rent and insurance cost 'at a glance' before viewing the property, paying the holding deposit which is everything that happens before you see the contract?

This is very clearly a breach of this act.

theartfullodger

This has always struck me as a dodgy fiddle used by "suspect" agents and/or landlords.  I would never agree, in your shoes I'd simply decline to take out such insurance.

Or, if they get nasty, take it out online, send evidence to agent that you've done so, then cancel: (If taking a service online you have 14 days to cancel)

Pixie5740

Uriziel said:

I have recently started renting a room with only a bed and a wardrobe and a few days later I get a call from a company telling me that they have been told to call me by the agency to set up an insurance and when I said that I am not interested they said that this is part of my tenancy agreement. I have been renting for several years in London and have never seen this before.
It looks like there is a paragraph stating that I must take out an insurance for accidental damage to the landlord's property even though they have my deposit already. This is very clearly nothing more than scam which the agency will receive commission for.

I have no interest in the insurance and I wouldn't be surprised if this was illegal. A tenancy agreement is not law irrelevant of whether it was signed or not.
The agency has completely failed to mention this additional cost to me and I was under the impression that I would only be paying the rent and no other charges. I very much doubt this would hold up in court considering a few years ago they released a new law to get rid of various "admin" charges agencies fabricated.

Can anyone please confirm whether this is actually legal and if I really are required to comply?
If it really comes to it I will be ensuring that I go to another insurance company, even if it is more expensive, just so that they do not receive their commission.

It has been a while since this insurance nonsense has been on the forum and yes I’m sure the agency does receive commission. 

There’s nothing stopping you from arranging your own contents insurance, including accidental damage, showing the letting agency the insurance certificate, and then cancel the policy within the cooling off period. 

Does your London Borough have mandatory licensing for landlords and letting agencies? 

Sandtree

SpiderLegs said:

Well you signed the tenancy agreement so you can’t really argue that you weren't told about it

But regardless, they can’t force you to take out insurance (and for something which you have no insurable interest in).

The OP has an insurable interest in damage they cause to the LL's property as their tenancy agreement will create a legal liability.

theartfullodger said:

Or, if they get nasty, take it out online, send evidence to agent that you've done so, then cancel: (If taking a service online you have 14 days to cancel)

All insurance has a 14 days cancellation from the later of the inception of the policy or when the policy docs are received, whichever is the later irrespective of how you buy it. Be aware however that a right to cancel doesnt mean its free to cancel, most insurers will charge an admin fee and for time on cover if it is cancelled after incepted.

Pixie5740 said:
There’s nothing stopping you from arranging your own contents insurance, including accidental damage, showing the letting agency the insurance certificate, and then cancel the policy within the cooling off period.  

Its not AD cover they need to show, its Tenants Liability. AD only covers damage to your own property not another persons.

Pixie5740

The other option is to do nothing and see how far the landlord is willing to go to try and enforce this breach of contract bearing in mind it’s the landlord, not the letting agency, that would have to take you to court. 

rexmedorum

Years ago when we were renting we had this clause as well... Couldn't find any insurance company that would cover accidental damage to the landlord's stuff (my own stuff yes, but not landlords stuff).

Depending on how much stuff you have and whether you can afford to lose all of it in one incident (think house fire) it may be worth having contents insurance.

Sandtree

rexmedorum said:

Years ago when we were renting we had this clause as well... Couldn't find any insurance company that would cover accidental damage to the landlord's stuff (my own stuff yes, but not landlords stuff).

Landlords Liability is a standard section in all but the most basic policies, I suspect the issue was the name you were using.. AD is own items only, LL Liability is what it says on the tin and normally isnt option nor can limits be changed.