Legal Expenses Insurance Introduction - Legal Expenses Insurance under a Landlords Insurance/ Buy to Let Policy should not be confused with Landlords Liability Insurance which is a different cover in it’s entirety.  Legal Expenses Insurance cover under Landlords Buy to Let Insurance is normally purchased as an add on to a Building or Contents Insurance contract. It cannot normally be purchased in isolation.  The covers is usually available vary from insurer to insurer but usually the cover will include up to at least £25,000 in respect of Legal Expenses to peruse a claim against a tenant if they fail to fulfill their obligations under their Short Term Tenancy agreement. The cover is usually extended to peruse a claim against a guarantor as well as a Tenant.

Other covers available include; property protection, legal defence, contractual disputes, debt recovery, taxation protection, employment disputes & bodily injury. Eviction of tenant cover may also be available as well eviction of squatters.  Some insurers will provide defence against prosecution and as a Landlord it is important to know the rules and regulations relating to letting property. If you are worried about prosecution under any of the following acts, you may be able to locate any insurance cover to protect you.

Gas Safety (installation and use) Regulations 1994 - The Gas Safety (Installation and Use Regulations) 1998 place an obligation on the Landlord to make sure that all gas fittings and appliances and flues supplied with the accommodation are maintained in a proper and safe condition. As a Landlord you should provide Instruction booklets for each gas appliance supplied for use in the property.  Typical gas appliances include Central Heating Boilers, room heaters, water heaters, cookers, etc. Flues must always be correctly installed and maintained. Open flues are forbidden in any room used for sleeping.  The regulations also specify that a CORGI registered gas installer/ engineer carry out an annual safety check on gas appliances.  You must keep a record of all safety checks including proper records of any problems found and repaired. You must issue your tenant with a gas certificate within 28 days of the service showing that all items are in correct safe working order.  Failure to comply with the regulations could result in a fairly hefty and possibly 6 month's imprisonment per item not complying. There is also the possibility of manslaughter charges in the event of death. The Tenant may be able to sue you for civil damages.

Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 - Any furniture and furnishings provided by you for use in the property rented must meet the fire requirements of the above regulations.  All upholstered furniture and upholstery is covered by the act; this would include Sofas, chairs, armchairs, cushions, futons, sofa beds, mattresses pillows etc.  If you supply garden furniture which could possibly be used in the home, this is covered by the act as well. Interestingly, duvets, loose mattress covers and carpets are not covered by the act.  Any furniture sold after 1990 will have a display label so you can easily spot if it satisfies the above conditions. Again failure to comply with this act can lead to a rather large fine or imprisonment.
You may also face manslaughter charges or possibly be sued by the tenant

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 - Whilst there is no statutory obligation (meaning a check carried out at a set interval of time) on landlords to have professional checks carried out on their rented property electrical systems or appliances, under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 & The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994, which come under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, there is a standard obligation to make sure that all electrical equipment is safe for use.  You should thus make sure that any electrical equipment supplied as part of your rented accommodation does comply with the above regulations and that all electrical equipment supplied for use by the tenant is safe for use. You can ask a qualified electrician to call at the property and for a set fee, he will test all appliances to make sure that they are safe for use. He should also then issue you with a certificate of compliance.  Failure to comply with the above act could result in a large fine on a per item basis. You may also face manslaughter charges and be sued by the tenant.
 

If you are worried about a particular legal expenses win relation to the renting of buy to let property, always seek professional advice, you may find that a policy exits to cover the eventuality that you are worried about.