HMO building insurance is buildings cover on a house that has been converted, and the conversion is the whole difference. Reinstating a licensed HMO does not mean rebuilding the house it used to be. It means rebuilding a compliant HMO: the fire doors, the interlinked alarms, the protected escape route, the additional bathrooms and whatever else the licence requires.
Why the sum insured is higher than for the same house unconverted
Every element the licensing regime requires has to be rebuilt too. Fire doors to every room with self closers. Interlinked detection. Emergency lighting where required. Additional bathrooms and the plumbing to serve them. Sometimes a second kitchen. A rebuild figure carried over from before the conversion is short by the cost of all of it.
What insurers ask about the conversion
When it was done, whether building control signed it off, whether planning permission was required and obtained, whether the property is licensed and by which authority, and what the fire risk assessment says. A conversion done properly and documented prices well. One done informally is both a licensing problem and an insurance one.
Escape of water and the extra bathrooms
More bathrooms means more plumbing and more claims, and escape of water is the most frequent claim on converted properties. Insurers know this and it shows in the excess. Keeping the plumbing maintained and the tenants told how to report a leak is worth more than the excess saving from ignoring it.
The sections beyond buildings
Landlord contents, which on an HMO is substantial because the rooms are furnished. Liability at a limit reflecting the number of people in the building. Loss of rent against the total room income rather than a single tenancy. Accidental and malicious damage, which on a shared house are closer to necessary than optional.
Questions people ask about hmo building insurance
Is the rebuild cost of an HMO higher?
Yes. Reinstating a licensed HMO means rebuilding the fire precautions and the additional amenities as well as the house, and a pre conversion figure underinsures it.
What will the insurer ask about the conversion?
When it was done, whether building control signed it off, whether the property is licensed, and what the fire risk assessment says.
Why is the escape of water excess higher?
More bathrooms means more plumbing and more frequent leaks, which is the commonest claim on converted houses.
Does the licence itself affect the premium?
A licensed and compliant HMO prices better than an unlicensed one, because the licence conditions are exactly the fire precautions the insurer cares about.