Top three tips to think about when insuring a  buy-to-let property

Making sure the buy-to-let property is fully insured is definitely one of the main priorities when you own and let a property. However, many landlords let out their properties to tenants without making sure their cover is up to date and adequate to the circumstances.

When insuring a buy-to-let property, the risks involved are many. Here are our top 3:

• the majority of standard insurance policies will not cover ‘unoccupied periods’ longer than 30 days. Unfortunately, holiday periods or void periods on a rental property often lasts more than 30 days, leaving the property without cover.
•  home owners letting to ‘high risk tenants’ including students, multiple sharers or people on benefits might not be entitled insurance cover by many insurers.
• most insurance policies will not cover damage or theft (with the exception of forced entry), leaving the owner exposed to tenants damaging their property without being reimbursed by the insurance company.

Besides making sure your property is fully insured according to the circumstances, it is also very important buy-to-let landlords communicate effectively with their tenants and other parties involved in managing the buy-to-let property, such as contractors or agents that manage for them.