landlord insurance
Landlord Insurance covers a property owner against damage, loss of rent, and liability risks that come with renting out a house or flat to tenants.
In plain English
Two men own houses on the same street in Lekki. One lives in his house with his family, and if the ceiling leaks or a pipe bursts, it is his private headache to sort out calmly with his own money and his own time.
The other man does not live in his house at all. He has tenants paying him rent every year, and that changes everything about the risk he carries, because now a fire, a flood, or a tenant who absconds after trashing the place is more than a repair bill, it is lost income too.
Landlord Insurance is built for that second man. It goes further than ordinary house insurance because it can cover loss of rental income if the property becomes unliveable, legal costs if a tenant disputes something or gets injured on the property, and damage the tenant causes that a normal policy might not touch.
In Nigeria, a man with three flats in Surulere renting to different families might take this cover so that if one flat burns down, he is not left paying the bank loan on the building while also receiving zero rent that month.
In the United Kingdom, a Nigerian landlord who owns a terraced house in Manchester and lives in London will often be required by his mortgage lender to hold landlord insurance before the letting agreement is even approved.
For someone in the diaspora who bought a property back home and rents it out through a cousin or agent, this kind of cover matters even more, because you are not there to inspect the damage yourself or chase the tenant for repairs.
A landlord in Port Harcourt insures his rented duplex for ₦3,000,000 a year in cover. A kitchen fire caused by a tenant's faulty cooker damages part of the house and the tenant has to move out while repairs happen. The insurer pays for the structural repairs and also compensates the landlord for two months of lost rent while the flat sits empty.
Questions people ask
Is Landlord Insurance different from normal home insurance?
Yes. A normal home policy is built for the person living in the house. Landlord Insurance adds protection for things unique to renting out property, like loss of rent and liability towards tenants or their visitors.
Does Landlord Insurance cover unpaid rent if a tenant simply refuses to pay?
It depends on the policy. Some landlord policies include rent guarantee cover for exactly this situation, but many basic policies only cover loss of rent caused by damage that makes the property unliveable, so it is worth checking the exact wording before you assume you are covered.
Do I need Landlord Insurance if I rent out just one flat to a family member?
It is still wise to have it, because even a relative can accidentally cause a fire or a flood, and you want the repair costs handled by an insurer rather than causing tension in the family over who pays.
Last reviewed