Have you got proper insurance?
Many people don’t realise that taking in a lodger will affect their insurance, or that it is something that they ought to tell their insurers about in advance.
Be warned
If you do not tell your insurers you are renting a room to a lodger, you may invalidate your insurance cover.
Also, if there is a theft at your property where there is no forced entry, particularly if it is pretty clear that it is the lodger who is the thief, your insurers will generally be entitled to refuse to pay.
This is both where it is the lodger who turns out to be the thief or also if it turns out to be the lodger who left the door or windows open. so the burglar could get in.
So make sure you notify your insurance company and ensure that you have the correct insurance cover.
Asking about unspent convictions
Many insurance companies will require you to ask potential lodgers whether they have any unspent convictions. An embarrassing question which many lodger landlords will baulk at.
Probably the best thing to do is to have this in an information form (discussed further in Part 11), and ask them to fill it in, and sign and date it. If they raise objections to the unspent convictions question, just say it is something your insurers have asked for.
Make sure you keep this form, in case you ever have to make an insurance claim.
If it turns out later that the lodger *did* have a criminal record, and you need to make a claim, it should be all right, provided you can show that you asked them about it.
If you don’t ask the question, though, (or have the form to prove it), your insurers may use this as an excuse not to pay.
If your insurance company turns out to be really difficult about allowing you to take in lodgers, don’t worry. You should be able to find another insurance firm that can help – for example, see below.
Finding insurance
Lodgers with criminal records
If you know that your prospective lodger has a criminal record, but you trust him and want to let the room to him anyway (after all ex-cons must live somewhere, and they are not all bad) the charity Unlock (the National Association of Reformed Offenders) may be able to help you find a company prepared to offer cover.
Alan Boswell Insurance
If your current insurers are unhappy about continuing your insurance cover if you have a lodger, you may want to try Alan Boswell Group who have lodger friendly policies. Check them out here.
Please say that you were referred via the Lodger Landlord website from Landlord Law.
Your Law Store
A letter you can use to write to your insurances is included in our Lodger Packs. Or you can buy it separately in the Letters section.
Important note
This guide ONLY deals with lodger agreements where you are renting a room to a lodger in your own home.
If you require information about tenancies with resident landlords and Welsh occupation contracts, you need the Landlord Law site.
