If you have landlord insurance, you may be wondering what happens to your cover when you don’t have tenants in your property. This is where landlord unoccupancy cover comes in.
So, what is this specific part of landlord insurance, and what does it do?
What is landlord unoccupancy cover?
Landlords can’t always guarantee that their rental properties will have tenants in all the time. Sometimes a rental property will go months without a tenant, so what happens to a landlord’s insurance during this time?
This is when unoccupancy cover comes in, which allows a landlord to still have their rental property protected for a period of time while it’s unoccupied.
Unoccupancy cover is usually an add-on or it may be included with your landlord insurance.
As standard, most landlord policies only cover short periods of unoccupancy. You might be covered for 30 days or a few months depending on your policy, but not for longer periods without tenants.
What’s the point of landlord unoccupancy cover?
Your property could still have issues or get damaged, even if it doesn’t have tenants in.
For instance, leaking pipes, storm damage, fires and other issues can all cause damage to your property.
Unoccupancy cover is there to support you when something like this happens.
The issues unoccupancy cover can help with will vary depending on which insurer you’re with. But in general, it can cover:
- liability
- storm damage
- fires
- flooding
- theft
- vandalism
Why would my property be unoccupied?
Sometimes it can be hard to find a new tenant after the previous tenant ends their lease.
Whether it’s the time of year, rental prices, or something else entirely, it’s not uncommon for rental properties to go weeks or months unoccupied.
Sometimes, a rental property may also be unoccupied because you’re doing renovations or repairs.
If you’re a landlord letting to students, your rental property could also be empty over the summer when they head home for their break.
Do I need unoccupancy cover?
It’s more common for landlord properties to go unoccupied for periods of time than houses that are mortgaged or outright owned. This is often when there’s a changeover of tenants.
Unoccupied properties are more at risk of issues like escape of water and theft, so it's important you have the right cover in place if your property is going to be unoccupied.
Whilst specialist unoccupancy landlord insurance does exist, it may not be needed if your property is going to be occupied by a tenant within a certain period. This time period will be specified by your insurer.
Do I already have unoccupancy cover?
Your landlord insurance policy documents should tell you if you’re covered while your property is unoccupied.
It’s always best to check with your insurer whether your landlord insurance includes unoccupancy before looking for additional cover.
If you’re insured with us, head to our landlord insurance page or our policy book to find out more.
