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Unoccupied Landlord Insurance

Insurance for if your rental property is unoccupied for a period of 30 days or more, and is classed as ‘unoccupied or ‘vacant’.

    • Cover for short-term renovation work between tenants and unoccupancy between rental agreements (rental void)
    • Repair work following storms and malicious damage
    • Access your quotes, policies and renewals in your online account
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Why choose unoccupied landlord insurance with Towergate?

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Specialist panel for unoccupied landlord insurance

We have special relationships with quality specialist insurers

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Tailored landlord unoccupied insurance

We give professional advice after gathering information to guide you to the correct policy for your requirements

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Landlord cover for inherited properties

Cover if you have inherited a property that you intend to rent out or sell

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Pay by Direct Debit instalments

We offer a quick and easy Direct Debit instalment scheme so you can spread payment over ten months.  

About unoccupied landlords insurance

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Specialist unoccupied landlord insurance 

We use a panel of high-quality specialist providers, so cover does vary from policy to policy. Some more competitively priced premiums will cover fire, lightning, explosions and aircraft (commonly known as FLEA cover) as standard, but you can also add 'wet perils' such as storm and escape of water – with limitations that we will discuss. 

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Malicious damage cover for unoccupied landlord properties

The highest available level of unoccupied landlord insurance will also include malicious damage cover.

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Panel of specialist unoccupied landlord insurance provider

We work with a panel of insures so we can choose and recommend which provider to use. This also means we can help you choose levels of cover and advise on the suitability and restrictions of these different levels.

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Experienced unoccupied landlord insurance team

We have a proactive and experienced team to help you choose the right cover you need as a landlord for your unoccupied property. We ask the right questions so that we can provide a bespoke service for a wide range of situations.

When you need to make a claim, we'll guide you through the process and get your claim settled as quickly as possible.

  • Find your insurance documents and make sure you have all your information at hand, including your policy number.
  • Call 0344 346 0307 to report the incident and explain what happened. Our advisors will guide you through the claims process.
  • Provide photos if requested to help us understand what happened as quickly as we can.
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Unoccupied landlord insurance FAQs

Even when a property is visited every seven days, a small leaking pipe can cause a significant amount of damage after six days.  

Unoccupied properties may also be likely to be vandalised with bricks through windows or burning rags pushed into a letterbox.   Squatters could also move in.

Insurers expect a property to be inhabited so incidents are spotted immediately, such as a burst pipe, or slates damaged because of storms.

When there is nobody there to see a new incident, then the overall damage will be more severe, which means possible higher claim amounts, and so a different style of premium calculation will ba applied, and you will be required to apply risk management as necessary.

A relatively minor repair, for example, may develop into a major incident if there is no one there to report the matter and take the appropriate action.

This depends on the vacancy period defined by the insurers – you need to check policy wordings as these do differ between providers.

If the property is to be unoccupied for as little as seven days, some providers will insist on preventative measures:

  • A visit to the premises with recorded internal and external inspection of the property at least every seven days
  • All waste removed both internally and externally
  • Letter boxes sealed up, and a post redirection for long periods
  • Services turned off and drained
  • Windows and doors are boarded up

You should let the insurance provider know as soon as possible after you are made aware, but always before the property is vacated so that you can prepare for the requirements of the insurance policy.

Always make sure that you understand all of the requirements of the policy whilst the property is unoccupied. Ensure that all of your risk management duties are performed and adequately recorded. Failure to comply with the insurers terms and conditions could mean that the insurer may not validate and pay your claim.

Contract works on the rental premises would normally be covered by the policy up to specified limits, but we will help you check each policy wording. However, it is very important to be fully aware of the limits as larger contract works will need to specifically insured.

Unoccupied and vacant properties are a higher risk to the insurance company. While some insurers may offer temporary unoccupied cover for a short amount of time, they may want:

  • An increased excess
  • An increased premium
  • A reduction in cover to fixtures/fittings and landlords contents cover
  • Risk management if the property is to be unoccupied for as little as seven days, such as:
    • A visit to the premises with recorded internal and external inspection of the property at least every seven days
    • All waste removed both internally and externally
    • Letter boxes sealed up, and a post redirection for long periods
    • Services turned off and drained
    • Windows and doors boarded up

The full list of landlord unoccupied insurance exclusions will be laid out in your policy documents. 

To help you spread the cost of your premiums of short term rental landlord insurance, we offer a quick and easy direct debit scheme for spreading payment over ten months. Please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page to find out more.

If you would like to know more about our monthly payment option, please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page.

Read more FAQs

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