As a landlord, you expect to be paid rent regularly. For many reasons this may be interrupted. Tenants may lose their job, lose housing benefit or simply decide to stop paying rent for some reason.
If the worst should happen and the property becomes unfit to live in, you can’t expect your tenant to continue paying rent unless you provide them with suitable alternative accommodation and legally, you can’t just tell them to leave immediately.
There are other circumstances where you could stop receiving any rent. If the property is damaged by fire or flood it may become completely uninhabitable. Storm damage can also be detrimental to a property and involve invasive or time consuming repair work to be carried out.
Repairs in such instances can take many months and during that time any tenants would have to move out - which means that there would be no rental income.
This is why it can be very helpful to have insurance that covers your rental income if circumstances mean you no longer receive it. If the property is mortgaged or you rely on the rent as part of your cash flow, it is important that you insure against loss of rent as well as general buildings and contents insurance.
It is helpful to read the small print on any policy you are taking out or have already taken out to ensure that the level of cover is suitable for you. If you do not state the exact amount of cover you require for loss of rent, the insurance policy may use a standard level which could be too low for your financial needs.
Being able to claim for the shortfall of rent could help take the stress out of the situation. It would also mean that you are able to continue to pay the mortgage on the property (if you have one) and know that your investment is well protected.
This type of cover can normally be added to your buildings and contents insurance policy and need not be hugely expensive.
Read more in our landlord insurance guides or get a quote now.