Renting out a room could leave homeowner insurance invalid

Homeowners who are looking to make some extra income by renting our sparerooms to students are at risk of invalidating their home insurance.

Some of the UK's biggest insurers have placed a ban on owners renting out a room of their house, which could make the insurance cover invalid. Some policies also have a clause that requires owners to check whether the lodger has an unspent criminal conviction.

Potential landlords need to inform their insurer straight away if they are going to take a lodger/ tenant into their home.

Get a declaration from the tenant that they have no unspent criminal convictions.

If they cannot get cover from their home policy they may need to seek specialist insurance cover from a landlord insurance broker.

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