Landlord Insurance For HMO Properties

A house with multiple occupancies (HMO) requires a specific type of landlord insurance for full coverage and the best protection available for a landlord with multiple tenants.

It is, however, much the same in terms of the process when organizing landlord insurance for your property. 

Is landlord insurance for an HMO property necessary?

It is a requirement to hold landlord insurance if you own and rent an HMO rental property to multiple tenants.

Landlord insurance policies can differ depending on the property – if it is a property for a communal living (shared kitchen and bathroom spaces) with no single occupancy or single household under its roof, then an HMO-specific product would be required.

If you have converted an existing property for an HMO, you must make many adjustments to meet legal requirements.

Safety, living essentials (space, gas, electricity, water etc.) and security are the main concerns of these standards for multiple occupants. However, assuming these considerations have been taken care of, you must organise the proper insurance policy as soon as possible for an HMO property.

However, this type of insurance would require you to register the address and obtain the necessary HMO license from your local authority for utilising the property in this way.

What is covered by HMO landlord insurance?

A standard landlord insurance policy will likely cover both buildings and contents insurance; however, with an HMO landlord insurance, you will need a more robust policy that may factor in numerous additional cover attachments to the overall policy.

With the right provider, you can extend your HMO Landlord insurance policy to cover things like unpaid rent and malicious damage caused by tenants to protect you from financial losses related to your property.

Here is a list of relevant policies for HMO landlords: 

• Unpaid or Loss of Rent
• Domestic emergency coverage
• Buildings insurance for fire, flooding, storm damage, general repairs
• Legal expenses
• Accidental or malicious damage from tenants
• Liability insurance
• Contents insurance

Bespoke HMO insurance cover can be amended to your requirements, and this is not an exhaustive list of policies that can be applied to HMO landlord insurance.

Suppose you are a landlord who owns multiple properties classified as HMOs. In that case, the administration of your property portfolio can be simplified and reduced by covering several properties under one policy.

Moreover, if you own other properties, whether commercial or residential, that are not HMOs, they can also be covered under a single policy.

When considering these facts, landlord insurance for HMOs can become very simple with the right provider and policy combination.

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What is the cost of HMO landlord insurance?

There are many variables when it comes to determining an insurance premium of this kind, it can mount considerably when incorporating an all-encompassing policy for multiple HMO properties.

Firstly, the cost will be determined by the insurance provider. They must consider the risk involved and the likelihood of a claim – yet, this is not the only factor, as many details are taken into account to arrive at the overall cost.

The resulting charge will reflect the variables of your circumstance; however, these are a few factors that will impact the landlord’s insurance quote for HMO property:

Type of occupancy – HMO

The building (Age, size, layout)

The property location

The number of tenants

Additional Extras – several add-on coverage policies may increase the overall cost of landlord insurance that may apply to HMO property.

How do I get HMO landlord insurance?

With this type of landlord insurance, it is best to seek a specialist HMO landlord insurance provider instead of a standard provider.

With a more bespoke approach, these property insurance providers are more keenly aware of possible risks associated with multiple occupancy properties.

It may be more inexpensive to consider your options by comparing and finding the possibility for discounts if you are a landlord with multiple HMOs.

Before you take out a landlord insurance policy

When looking for landlord insurance for HMO properties, you should shop around thoroughly and check exactly what each policy covers and if you need to purchase any optional extras –typical for insurance covering HMOs.

Through a diligent market comparison, you will find the property owner’s liability insurance plan that most comprehensively suits your needs.

We can help; use our landlord insurance quote service to get a quick online quote for landlord insurance for HMO properties.