How to Get Landlord Quotes: A Practical UK Guide

A vacant flat between tenancies, a converted house with separate lets, or one missed rent payment can change the type of policy a broker can arrange. Knowing how to get landlord quotes starts with describing the property and tenancy accurately, rather than selecting the quickest answer and hoping the details can be sorted later.

Landlord insurance is not one standard product. The cover and underwriting approach can differ depending on the building, who occupies it, how it is let and the protection you need. A clear enquiry helps brokers assess the risk properly and gives you a more useful basis for comparing their responses.

Start with the property and tenancy details

Have the property address, rebuild value, construction type and year built to hand. The rebuild value is the estimated cost of rebuilding the property from scratch after a total loss, not its market sale price. If you do not know it, avoid guessing where possible, as an inaccurate figure can leave you underinsured or lead to a policy being unsuitable.

You will also need to describe the tenancy. Say whether the property is let to a single household, students, professionals, benefit recipients, holiday guests or several unrelated tenants. A house in multiple occupation, usually shortened to HMO, needs particular care because licensing and insurance requirements can vary by local authority and property set-up.

Be specific about any features that do not fit a straightforward residential let. Examples include a flat above a shop, a listed building, a property undergoing refurbishment, previous subsidence, an unoccupied period, or a tenant using part of the premises for business. These details do not automatically prevent cover being arranged, but withholding them can make a quote misleading.

Decide what you need the policy to protect

Buildings cover is normally the starting point where you own the structure, but a landlord policy may also include or offer other sections. The right combination depends on your responsibilities under the tenancy and any mortgage conditions, not simply on the lowest headline price. Our landlord insurance guide sets out how each section works in more detail.

Contents cover can protect items you provide for tenants, such as white goods, furniture and carpets. It does not usually mean a tenant’s personal possessions are insured. If the property is unfurnished, you may still have communal or landlord-owned items to consider.

Property owners’ liability is another common section. It may respond if someone alleges they were injured or their property was damaged because of your ownership of the let property, subject to the policy wording, limits and exclusions. Loss of rent cover may help following insured damage that makes the property uninhabitable, while rent guarantee cover is a separate product with its own tenant referencing rules, waiting periods and conditions.

Think about the events that would cause the greatest disruption to your letting income. Accidental damage, malicious damage by tenants, legal expenses, emergency assistance and alternative accommodation can each be relevant, but they are not automatic or identical across policies. Ask for the wording or a clear explanation of what each optional section does before treating two quotes as like-for-like.

Give a full account of claims and known issues

Insurers and brokers commonly ask about claims, losses and incidents over a stated number of years. Declare claims that were paid, rejected or settled without payment if the question asks for them. Include incidents you knew about even if you chose not to claim, such as escape of water or storm damage.

Also disclose known building issues, security concerns and any history of flooding, subsidence or structural movement when requested. A past event does not define the property forever, but it may affect which insurers will consider it and what evidence they need. Being open at quotation stage is far easier than trying to correct a policy after it has started.

If the property is empty, say how long it has been unoccupied and why. Many policies have tighter conditions after a set period without tenants, often relating to inspections, heating, water supplies and security. The relevant period and conditions vary, so do not assume a policy for an occupied buy-to-let will work unchanged during a renovation or prolonged void.

How to get landlord quotes without repeating yourself

A short-form enquiry can reduce the need to explain the same details to several brokers individually. You provide the core facts once, then brokers with an appetite for that type of property can assess whether they can offer terms. This can be particularly useful for HMOs, portfolios, mixed-use buildings, adverse claims histories or properties that standard online journeys do not handle well.

MyMoneyComparison.com connects customers with a panel of FCA-regulated brokers through one enquiry. The service is free to use, and it is not an insurer or underwriter. MyMoneyComparison.com is FCA registered under number 916241, while the broker or insurer provides the quotation, policy terms and price.

Do not rush the form. Enter the correspondence address, property address and ownership details correctly. Check whether the question asks about your personal claims history, the property’s claims history, or both, as these are not always the same thing.

For a portfolio, prepare a schedule rather than relying on memory. A useful schedule records each property address, property type, occupancy, rebuild value, claims history and any non-standard features. This makes it easier for a broker to see whether one policy can be considered for the portfolio or whether certain properties need separate treatment.

Compare the terms, not just the annual cost

Once your landlord quotes arrive, compare them on the same assumptions. A lower price can reflect a higher excess, a lower buildings sum insured, narrower tenant eligibility or omitted add-ons. The excess is the amount you may need to pay towards a claim, and some policies apply separate excesses for events such as escape of water, subsidence or malicious damage.

Check the following points before choosing between offers:

• •the buildings sum insured and whether it reflects a current rebuild assessment
• •the stated tenancy type, occupancy limits and any restrictions on tenants
• •the excesses that apply to the risks most relevant to the property
• •the length and limit of any loss of rent provision
• •exclusions, endorsements and policy conditions that have been added to the quote
• •whether legal expenses, rent guarantee or accidental damage are included, optional or absent

An endorsement is a change or additional condition applied to a policy. It may be routine, such as a security requirement, or more significant, such as an exclusion for a known issue. Ask the broker to explain any wording you do not recognise in plain English and keep a copy of the quote documents.

Be careful with mid-term changes

A landlord policy is based on the facts declared when it begins. If your circumstances change, tell the broker or insurer promptly. Common examples include changing from a family let to student tenants, starting building work, leaving the property empty, adding a co-owner or discovering damage that may lead to a claim.

Do not assume a change of tenant is always administrative. A shift in occupancy can alter the insurer’s view of the risk and may need approval before it takes effect. The same applies if you turn a standard let into short-term holiday accommodation or allow a tenant to operate a business from the address.

A better enquiry produces a better comparison

When working out how to get landlord quotes that actually fit, the aim is not to make your property appear simpler than it is. It is to give enough accurate detail for a broker to match your circumstances to suitable insurer criteria. That may mean fewer immediate options for a non-standard property, but the options you receive should be more relevant than a generic result built on incomplete answers.

Before submitting a landlord quotes enquiry, gather your rebuild figure, tenancy details, claims information and the covers you want to discuss. Then compare each response carefully, ask about conditions that affect your let, and choose only when you understand what is being offered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: July 2026