Buildings Insurance For Freeholders

Benefits of our Blocks of Flats buildings insurance for freeholders

Essentially, block of flats insurance by default will include buildings cover. By extension, this will insure that your block of flats is protected in the event that your property experiences unpredicted, unforeseeable and unintended damage, either accidental and/or malicious.

Moreover, if you yourself do not own the entirety of the block, but rather you have a freehold for a few flats in the building you will need to set up a joint freehold building insurance with your freeholder counterparts in that specific block. As an alternative, for a joint freehold insurance you may wish to form management company with such counterparts. Because of the joint nature for freehold, at Emerald we do not offer individual flats building insurance cover but rather a block of flats buildings insurance, as the insurance will cover the whole building. Read on for more on the difference between flats buildings insurance cover and a block of flats policy.

We know that navigating insurance can sometimes be a complex process; nevertheless, at Emerald we are here to make things simple through finding you the appropriate insurance cover at a competitive price. Call us on 0330 113 7109 to walk through a quote in minutes with our award-winning call centre.

Do I need buildings insurance for a leasehold flat?

If you are a tenant, buildings insurance for a leasehold flat is not a legal imperative; however, your mortgage lender will typically encourage you to purchase a leasehold buildings insurance in order to ensure that the building is protected from both accidental and malicious forms of damage.

Usually, it is the responsibility of the freeholder to arrange the appropriate buildings cover for their property. Most freeholders who let their property will tend to charge an additional fee, known as a service charge, which will account for the amount they have spent on buildings insurance during the financial year.

Does the freeholder pay the buildings insurance?

First the freeholder must arrange for building coverage. Usually, this is paid back through service charges as specified in the lease agreement.

What about joint freeholder building insurance?

As previously mentioned, joint freeholder building insurance becomes necessary when you, the landlord of a leasehold flat, do not account for an entire block. In such an event, it is crucial that you form a management company or at least join up with your neighbouring lessees in order to sort insurance for the whole block. This is largely owing to the fact that co-existing leaseholds all share the same building (they share the same physical structure), therefore that one building should share a buildings insurance cover.

Naturally, under this form of joint freehold buildings cover insurance costs may cover accidental damage and may cover malicious damage.

Concomitantly, whilst joint freeholder building insurance accounts for the one physical structure that the leaseholds exist within, contents insurance for your property will not be included within this particular policy. If you are seeking this form of insurance you will need to purchase contents insurance as a separate cover. This is owing to the fact that contents, as well as their value, will differ from owner to owner within the overall joint freehold property: as a result freeholders should establish a separate flats insurance cover for the protection of their contents. 

Communal areas

With one exception on contents: communal areas, such as communal gardens, and items within a block of flats which is owned by multiple freeholders will enjoy a rough insured sum £5000 to cover communal contents damage. 

To inquire more into this form of block cover give us a call on 0330 113 7109 or email us at  customerservice@emeraldlife.co.uk. 

Benefits of block of flats building cover for freeholders

Establishing a block of flats building cover can be hugely beneficial within protecting your property as well as safeguarding your income as a freeholder. 

Listed below is number of items you can expect to find within a standard block insurance policy:

• Buildings cover: counting fire, accidental damage, malicious damage (such as forms of vandalism and theft), water damage, storm, flood and subsidence. 

An additional advantage to purchasing block of flats cover for your freehold property is that alternative accommodation will be reimbursed by your provider in the light of unpreventable, unintended and unforeseeable forms of damage that leave your property uninhabitable. Crucially, this will enable your leasehold contract to remain commercially viable in the event that your property is unfit for residential purposes, as you will be able to charge rent from a tenants access to alternative accommodation. 

Looking for the right insurance cover that addresses you commercial and/or residential needs? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our specialist team at Emerald, just a call away on 030 113 7109. 

As a freeholder, or joint freeholder, whether you want buildings insurance for two flats in a converted house or multiple flats in a purpose built block, you need what is frequently referred to as block of flats buildings insurance

We know how crucial your coverage and the cost of freeholder insurance should be to us. Freeholder land comes in any shape or dimension including conversion to the re-purposing of large warehouses to specially constructed blocks or even listed buildings – either of standard or nonstandard construction. Working closely with our specialists we can use our experience and knowledge to find you suitable insurance levels to recoup the cost. Should you need a claim we can help you through what can be quite complex claims processes

What does freehold property mean?

Freehold property refers to the complete legal entitlement to a property and its land upon its purchase. 

Such ownership enables freeholders to utilise their property for commercial or residential means.

Here at Emerald we understand that arranging building insurance cover for your new freehold can seem like a daunting journey to start. However, we are here to make it easy.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Emerald Life. We’re here to help!

Landlord Insurance and Buildings Insurance

In some cases Landlord insurance and buildings insurance can appear intersectional, as within most landlord insurance policies buildings cover is included by default. 

However as previously mentioned, this is subject to change depending on the type of building your freehold exists in. If you let a flat in a block to which you only own one flat: in such a case you would have to attain a joint freehold buildings insurance to protect the physical structure of your freehold.

Liability Cover

Public liability cover is often included within landlord insurance costs. Property owners liability will protect you financially from claims of personal injury or damage allegedly brought about from the condition of your property. 

Party liability 

Additionally, for those with a joint freehold buildings cover, party liability is typically covered in the event that a resident in your shared building makes a claim of personal damage or injury against your property. 

Third party liability cover

Simultaneously, if you are a tenant or leaseholder it is advised that you adopt a third party liability cover in order to protect yourself from the financial penalty if you are considered to have caused damage to someone else’s property. Whether that financial burden be in repairing damaged property or legal fees. 

Property owner’s employers liability cover

Property owner’s employability cover seeks to protect you, a freeholder, from claims made against you in the event that employees, contractors, casual workers, or temporary staff on your payroll get injured on your property owner.

Complex claims process

A complex claims process is a term that refers to claims that are challenging to resolve. This could be owing to the fact that disputes involve multiple parties, further legal inquiry, or large losses. 

To inquire more into the different forms of property owner liability insurance give us a call on 0330 113 7109.

Are there benefits to being a freeholder?

One of the most notable benefits of being a freeholder is that not only are you entitled to free leasehold extensions (up to 999 years), but they are easily accessible. Moreover, you have the opportunity to retain an additional income through applied service charges, select ideal tenants and are exempt from paying ground rent.

If you are a freeholder with more than one dwelling, legally, you are entitled to Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR) which is a reduction in tax that must be upon the purchase of a property within England and Northern Ireland known as Stamp Duty Land Tax.

What does freeholder buildings insurance cover?

Freeholder building insurance will cover the damages that are made both accidentally and/or maliciously against your property. 

On a separate note, how much should I insure my flat for?

Your building will be insured at the cost of restoring the building, but not the resale cost. This is a significant difference because the value of your building typically exceeds the value of restoring it. The Association of British Insurers (ABI)offers an interactive calculator for rebuilding your individual apartment property. When it involves insuring a block of apartments, it is possible that a professional appraisal will need to be conducted to determine the exact rebuild value. When rebuild value comes in you have a chance of being insured as costs for rebuilding increase. In such a case you would only insure your flat with contents insurance. 

Insurance Costs and Service Charges

Firstly, what are service charges?

Well, service charges are owed to the landlord on behalf of the leaseholder for the services that a landlord is obliged to provide under the terms of a lease. Service charge is included to compensate for: maintenance, repair, improvement of roofs, foundations, window frames, guttering, communal spaces spaces and buildings insurance. 

Overall details of your service charge, including the specific amount, should be disclosed in full within your lease documents.

This fee will manifest in an annual service charge bill.

To learn more about insurance costs and service charges see the attached link below:

Who arranges building insurance for leasehold properties?

Typically, the freeholder is responsible for arranging the right insurance for their property. Tenants will usually be charged a service charge fee which will compensate for the landlords costs of buildings insurance.

To summarise joint freehold buildings insurance policy

• Arranging buildings insurance for your block of flats is essential for protecting your property from unpreventable forms of damage. If you don’t hold the entire block as a freehold; but rather you own one or multiple flats within the building it is an imperative that you establish a joint freeholder building insurance with neighbouring freeholders to insure that the whole building is protected. The only contents that will be included within your joint freehold buildings insurance are those within shared spaces, for example, communal gardens. 
• In regard to the previous point, joint freehold buildings insurance will not cover the contents of your leasehold flats. Instead, we encourage freeholders with joint buildings insurance to pursue their own contents insurance.
• Alternative accommodation whilst repairs are being made to your uninhabitable residential property is reimbursed through our buildings insurance policy. In turn, this will enable you as a landlord to protect the income you attain from your property.
• Liability cover is significant within protecting yourself against claims of damage or personal injury. Such insurance will cover anything from legal expenses to the claimed compensation.
• A leasehold property will typically require insurance. The issue of insuring the property tends to be the responsibility of the mortgage companies; however, it is recommended that tenants acquire insurance in order to cover themselves from potential damages.
• Service charge is defined as the fee that is payable by the leaseholder to the landlord. Notably, this is on the premise that the landlord will provide the service of maintaining a habitable condition for tenants. 

Lastly, arranging buildings insurance cover that is right for you (and your property) is a priority we hold here at Emerald Life. At Emerald our insurance advice and policy design is underpinned by advanced experience and expertise.