Rent guarantee insurance for tenants is searched for by people who have met the phrase in a letting context and reasonably assumed it protects them. It does not. Rent guarantee is a landlord's product covering the landlord's income. What a tenant is usually looking for is one of three other things, and it is worth a landlord knowing which.
What the tenant usually wants
Cover for their own rent if they lose their job, which is an income protection or short term unemployment product rather than anything to do with the tenancy. Or a guarantor service, which stands behind the rent for a fee and is not insurance. Or deposit replacement, which replaces a cash deposit with a smaller non refundable payment.
Why the confusion arises
Letting agents describe rent guarantee to landlords in a document tenants also see, and referencing companies sell guarantor services under names that sound similar. A tenant told the landlord has rent guarantee sometimes concludes they are covered, which is the opposite of the position: the policy pays the landlord and the arrears remain the tenant's debt.
What a landlord should say
That the landlord's insurance protects the landlord, that any arrears remain owed by the tenant, and that the tenant's own contents and any income protection are theirs to arrange. Saying it in the welcome pack costs nothing and prevents a misunderstanding that surfaces at the worst possible time.
Questions people ask about rent guarantee insurance for tenants uk
Can a tenant buy rent guarantee insurance?
Not in the landlord's sense. Rent guarantee protects the landlord's income. Tenants are usually looking for income protection, a guarantor service or deposit replacement.
Does the landlord's policy help the tenant?
No. It pays the landlord and the arrears remain the tenant's debt, which is worth saying plainly at the start of a tenancy.
What is a deposit replacement scheme?
A product replacing a cash deposit with a smaller non refundable payment. It is not insurance for the tenant and liability for damage remains theirs.