If you’re looking for peace of mind when it comes to unexpected legal costs to do with your rental property, landlord legal protection insurance could help.
Here’s how it works and what you need to know.
What is Landlord Legal Protection?
Landlord legal protection is a type of insurance that provides cover for legal expenses that may crop up in situations related to your rental property – things like tenant disputes, pursuing unpaid rent or dealing with evictions.
As with all insurance policies, landlord legal protection typically has limits on coverage, and not all legal expenses may be covered. The specific terms and conditions of the policy can vary, so it's important to carefully review the details and understand what is and isn't covered.
If you have insurance with us, you can check your policy documents here.
How can Landlord Legal Protection benefit me?
If you find yourself facing unexpected legal costs during your tenant relationships, you could make a claim on your landlord legal protection policy and get some or all of those costs covered.
Having landlord legal protection could be particularly reassuring if you rely on your tenant’s rent to cover your mortgage payments on the property.
There are many different landlord legal protection policies on the market all offering varying levels of cover – you might see them called landlord insurance with legal protection or legal expenses, too.
Our Landlord Legal Protection provides up to £100,000 of help with legal costs if you go to court with a tenant for things like eviction, property disputes, or chasing any unpaid rent.
You also get access to a dedicated advice line that’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for advice on any legal matter that may be affecting you.
Here are some situations where landlord legal protection cover could help. These aren’t actual Admiral Landlord Legal claims, but examples of situations where we would be able to support you.
Damp from neighbour’s property
Scenario: The landlord discovered damp in their property and obtained a report that showed the issue was caused by the neighbour’s property. The neighbour refused to accept liability.
Outcome: The landlord put in a claim using Landlord Legal Protection and had a panel solicitor appointed. The panel solicitor agreed that the neighbour should cover the cost of the repair, and the threat of legal action resulted in the neighbour taking action to stop the source of the damage.
Damage by previous tenants
Scenario: The landlord discovered that a previous tenant caused extensive damage to the inside of the property. This had to be repaired at a cost to the landlord before another tenant could move in.
Outcome: Using Landlord Legal Protection, the landlord appointed a solicitor to recover the cost of the repair from the tenants.
Hotel and storage costs
Scenario: The landlord needed a possession order so they could move into their property. However, while this was processed, they had nowhere to stay.
Outcome: Landlord Legal Protection covered the landlord’s costs for staying in a hotel for up to 30 days until the possession order was granted.
What is covered by Landlord Legal Protection?
Landlord legal protection can help cover the costs arising from lots of common circumstances and disputes, including:
Evictions
Your cover can help cover legal costs in situations where your tenant fails to meet their tenancy obligations.
Rent recovery
If you need to pursue a tenant for rent payments that have been overdue for at least one month, you can use your landlord legal protection cover to appoint a solicitor to recover the payments.
Property disputes
If your tenant is disputing any property damage during their tenancy, or you need to take them to court for breaching the terms of their tenancy agreement, your legal fees will be covered if you’re defending a counter claim. We count property damage as anything which costs more than £100, including VAT.
Criminal Prosecution
Your cover can help with the costs of any criminal prosecution brought against you relating to the letting of your property.
Identity Fraud
If identification belonging to you has been used without your knowledge or permission, your landlord legal protection could help you pursue a claim.
Tax Disputes
If HMRC investigates your tax affairs and takes you to court, your cover can help cover the costs of your legal representation and accountant fees. Please read the policy book for full details.
Hotel expenses and storage costs
Decide you want to move back into your property? If you need to get a possession order to do so and don’t have anywhere to stay in the meantime, the cost for you to stay in a hotel for up to 30 days and store your possessions for 4 weeks can be taken care of until the order is granted.
That includes up to £150 per day for your accommodation and up to £20 per day for storage costs.
What isn’t covered by Landlord Legal Protection?
Insurance policies always come with restrictions and exclusions, and landlord legal protection cover is no different. It varies between insurer, but most won’t cover:
Cases you’re unlikely to win
We, for example, won’t cover civil claims where there’s less than a 51% chance of winning.
Costs where you’re in the wrong
Things like court-ordered fines, penalties, compensation or damages that you’ve been ordered to pay.
Incidents that happened a while back
We can’t cover claims reported more than 180 days after you found out about the insured incident.
What happens if the claim goes to court?
Insurers will usually make every effort to settle most claims without the need to go to court. But where the case has to be settled through the court process, a solicitor will be appointed based on their specialist knowledge and expertise.
All insurers are different, but if you have our Landlord Legal Protection and use our recommended solicitor, we’ll cover all legal costs involved in your claim up to the maximum amount payable under your policy, as long as the policy criteria is met.
Can I use my own solicitor?
Again, it depends on your insurer, but with us, you can choose your own solicitor in certain circumstances.
While most claims will be dealt with by our recommended solicitors, there are instances where you can request your own, such as when legal proceedings have already been issued, or if there’s a conflict of interest with the recommended solicitor.
If a non-recommended solicitor has been approved, then the costs payable are limited to our standard advisor’s costs, which is the same amount we would have paid to a representative from our panel solicitors.
What can invalidate Landlord Legal Protection?
Incorrect or missing tenant referencing is a common reason for invalidated Landlord Legal Protection.
Tenant referencing is a legal requirement that verifies whether tenants are right for you and your property. At a minimum, it involves a credit check.
Our guide on tenant referencing for landlords has more information.
How do I add Landlord Legal Protection to my policy?
Our Landlord Legal Protection is available as an add-on to our Landlord Insurance policy, but it’s included as standard on Gold and Platinum policies.
If you’re taking out a new policy, you can do this online. If you’re an existing policy holder, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
