Cover for when the rent stops
Rent Guarantee Insurance
Cover that pays the rent when a tenant defaults, normally packaged with the legal costs of getting the property back.
- Pays rent up to a monthly limit while arrears continue
- Usually includes legal expenses for possession
- Compare quotes from 40+ providers
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01
What Is Rent Guarantee Insurance?
Rent guarantee insurance pays your rental income, up to a monthly limit and for a set number of months, when a tenant stops paying.
It is sometimes sold as rent protection or tenant default cover. Most policies bundle it with legal expenses cover, because recovering the rent and recovering the property are usually the same problem.
It is an optional section rather than part of the core, so a UK landlord insurance comparison will show it priced separately on most quotes.
02
How Do You Compare Rent Guarantee Insurance Quotes?
Compare the monthly cap, the number of months paid and the referencing conditions, because those three things decide what the policy is actually worth.
- 1
Have the tenancy details ready
You need the monthly rent, the tenancy type and the date it started. Policies are written around an assured periodic tenancy, which is the form all tenancies in England now take.
- 2
Confirm the referencing position
Insurers ask whether the tenant was referenced before moving in, and what the referencing showed. Answer this accurately, because it is the condition most often relied on to decline a claim.
- 3
Choose the cap and the term
Pick a monthly limit at or above your actual rent, and a claim period long enough to see a possession case through. Six months rarely covers a contested case.
- 4
Read the excess and the trigger
Check how many months of arrears must build up before the policy pays, and whether it pays from the first month or the second. Two quotes at the same price can differ sharply here.
03
What Does Rent Guarantee Insurance Cover?
It covers unpaid rent while the tenancy continues, the legal costs of obtaining possession, and in many policies a period of rent after the tenant has left.
Unpaid rent during the tenancy
The policy pays the rent that the tenant has not paid, up to your monthly cap. Payment normally continues each month while the arrears persist and you are pursuing possession.
Legal costs of possession
The legal expenses element funds solicitors to serve notice and bring a possession claim. It usually covers court fees and, in many policies, the cost of enforcement afterwards.
Rent after possession
Some policies keep paying, often at 50 or 75 per cent of the rent, for a short period after you get the property back. That bridges the gap while you re-let.
What it sits alongside
Rent guarantee is a bolt-on rather than a whole policy, and it assumes you hold buildings cover elsewhere. Most landlords add it to their main policy at renewal.
Compare in one place
See what rent protection is available for your tenancy.
One set of questions, quotes back from UK providers.
04
How Does Rent Guarantee Differ From Loss of Rent?
Rent guarantee covers a tenant who stops paying. Loss of rent covers rent you lose because the property itself cannot be lived in.
The distinction in practice
The two are bought for different failures, and landlords regularly believe they hold one when their schedule shows the other.
| Rent guarantee | Loss of rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Tenant does not pay | Property is uninhabitable |
| Typical cause | Job loss, dispute, default | Fire, flood, escape of water |
| Conditions | Referencing and a written tenancy | An insured event under the main policy |
| Usually sold as | Optional add-on | Included or optional on buildings cover |
| Legal costs | Normally included | Not included |
Which one you need
If your worry is a tenant losing their job, that is rent guarantee. If your worry is a burst pipe making the flat unusable for four months, that is loss of rent. Many landlords hold both, because they protect against unrelated risks.
05
What Is Not Covered by Rent Guarantee Insurance?
Arrears that began before cover started, unreferenced tenants, informal agreements and rent above your chosen cap all fall outside the policy.
-
Arrears that predate the policy
A tenant already behind when you bought the cover is a known loss. Insurers will decline the claim and may void the policy.
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Tenants who were not referenced
If the policy required referencing and it was not done, or the references were adverse and you let anyway, the insurer can refuse to pay. This is the most common reason a rent guarantee claim fails.
-
Informal and family arrangements
Letting to a family member on a handshake usually falls outside the wording. Insurers want a proper written tenancy agreement.
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Rent above the cap
If your rent is £1,400 and you insured to £1,200, the difference is yours. Review the cap whenever you increase the rent.
06
How Does a Rent Guarantee Claim Work?
You report the arrears once they reach the policy trigger, the insurer appoints solicitors, and payments run monthly while possession is pursued.
A worked example
A tenant paying £1,100 a month stops paying in March.
The policy has a £1,250 monthly cap, a twelve month claim limit and pays from the second month of arrears. You notify the insurer in April once two months are outstanding. Solicitors serve notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, and the policy pays £1,100 a month from April until possession, then a reduced amount for a short re-letting period.
Notify early
Most policies require notification within a set number of days of the first missed payment. Waiting until the arrears are serious is the second most common reason claims fail.
Keep the paperwork straight
You will need the tenancy agreement, the referencing report, the rent statement and proof the deposit was protected. GOV.UK sets out the deposit protection rules, and a deposit protected late can undermine a possession claim.
07
How Much Does Rent Guarantee Insurance Cost?
Price follows the rent insured, the claim limit and the strength of the referencing, so there is no single figure that applies across tenancies.
What moves the price
We do not publish average premiums, because the monthly cap alone changes the figure several times over.
- 1 Monthly rent insured Higher rent, higher premium
- 2 Claim period Twelve months costs more than six
- 3 Excess period Paying from month one costs more than month two
- 4 Tenant referencing Full referencing and a guarantor reduce it
- 5 Tenant type Working, student and benefit tenants are rated differently
- 6 Legal expenses limit Higher limits raise it
Standalone or bundled
Buying it as part of your main landlord policy is usually cheaper than a standalone product, and it keeps one renewal date. Standalone policies can still be worth it where your main insurer will not offer the cover.
08
Which Tenancies Can Rent Guarantee Cover?
Most insurers will cover an assured periodic tenancy with fully referenced tenants, and will consider students, company lets and tenants on benefits on different terms.
Working tenants on an assured periodic tenancy
This is the standard case and the easiest to place. Employment and previous landlord references usually open up the widest choice of policies and the lowest price.
Students with a guarantor
Student tenants rarely pass an affordability reference on their own income. Insurers normally accept them where a UK-based guarantor signs up for the full rent, and many will not quote without one.
Tenants receiving housing benefit or Universal Credit
Cover is available, though fewer insurers offer it and the referencing requirements differ. Where the housing element is paid direct to the landlord, some insurers view the risk more favourably.
Company lets
Where the tenant is a business renting for its staff, the reference is a company credit check rather than a personal one. A company let sits outside the assured tenancy regime altogether, so confirm the policy covers that arrangement.
Shared houses and room-by-room lets
Individual room contracts complicate a claim, because each tenant’s rent is separate and only one may be in arrears. Some insurers will cover an HMO on a per-room basis, while others will only write it on a single joint tenancy.
09
What Are the Alternatives to Rent Guarantee Insurance?
A guarantor, a deposit, a guaranteed rent scheme or simply stronger referencing all reduce the same risk, though none of them replaces the cover entirely.
Asking for a guarantor
A UK-based guarantor who signs up for the full rent gives you someone else to pursue. It costs nothing, but enforcing against a guarantor still means going to court.
Taking a deposit
A deposit covers arrears at the end of a tenancy, not during it. It is also capped: under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 a deposit is limited to five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000. That means a deposit will rarely cover more than about a month of arrears once damage is also deducted.
Using a guaranteed rent scheme
Some agents and councils take a lease on the property and pay you a fixed rent whether or not it is occupied. The rent is typically below market, so you are trading income for certainty.
Referencing more thoroughly
Full affordability checks, previous landlord references and a look at the applicant’s payment history prevent more losses than any product does. Most rent guarantee policies require this anyway.
Why landlords still buy the cover
None of the alternatives pays the mortgage while a possession case runs. That gap is what the policy exists to fill.
10
How Can You Make a Claim More Likely to Succeed?
Reference every tenant properly, use a written agreement, protect the deposit on time and notify the insurer at the first missed payment.
Reference before the tenancy, not after
Full referencing with employment and previous landlord checks is what the policy is priced on. A guarantor strengthens both the tenancy and the claim.
Serve the right notice
The possession route depends on the grounds and on the tenancy. Getting the notice wrong restarts the process and costs months.
Keep a clean rent record
A dated rent statement showing every payment and every arrear is what the insurer works from. Informal payment arrangements made by text are hard to evidence.
Check the policy still matches the rent
After a rent increase, the cap may no longer cover the full amount. Firms arranging this cover are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and the policy documents will set out the limits that apply.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is rent guarantee insurance?
It pays your rent, up to a monthly limit and for a set number of months, when a tenant stops paying. Most policies also cover the legal costs of recovering possession.
How is it different from loss of rent cover?
Rent guarantee responds to a tenant who will not or cannot pay. Loss of rent responds when the property cannot be lived in after an insured event such as a fire, so the rent stops for a physical reason.
Do my tenants have to be referenced?
Almost always. Insurers normally require referencing before the tenancy starts, and a policy bought after a tenant is already in arrears will not cover that arrears.
How long does the cover pay for?
Policies set both a monthly cap and a maximum number of months, commonly six or twelve. Some continue paying a reduced amount for a period after possession is granted.
Is there an excess?
Usually the first month of arrears is not paid, acting as an excess. Check whether your policy pays from month one or month two, because it changes the real value considerably.
Does it cover damage caused by the tenant?
No. Rent guarantee covers unpaid rent and the legal costs of possession. Damage is dealt with by the deposit, or by the accidental and malicious damage sections of your main policy.
Can I buy it once my tenant has stopped paying?
No. Insurers treat existing arrears as a known loss, and a claim arising from a situation that already existed when you bought the policy will be declined.
Do I need a written tenancy agreement?
Yes. Insurers require a properly drawn-up written agreement. Since 1 May 2026 tenancies in England are assured periodic tenancies rather than assured shorthold tenancies, and policies have been rewritten around that.
Will the insurer handle the eviction?
The legal expenses element typically appoints and pays for solicitors to run the possession claim. You still have to serve the correct notice and cooperate with the process.
Is it worth the cost?
That depends on whether you could absorb several months without rent while paying a mortgage. Landlords with one property and a mortgage tend to get more value from it than those with a large portfolio and cash reserves.
Does it cost anything to compare quotes here?
No. Comparing is free and there is no obligation to buy. We may be paid a fee when a policy is taken out, which does not change the price you are quoted.
Ready to compare quotes?
Cover that pays the rent when a tenant defaults, normally packaged with the legal costs of getting the property back.
Compare landlord insurance quotes from UK providers.