Insurance and leases

Who insures?

Where property is let, the landlord will usually be responsible for arranging insurance of the building, whilst recovering the cost of that insurance from the tenant(s). The landlord will clearly need to insure where the lease is of part only of a building, but even in the case of a lease of the whole of a single building the landlord may well prefer to retain control of the insurance so as to be sure that the building is fully covered at all times.

For further guidance, see Practice Note: Insurance issues for tenants — Who insures?.

Where the landlord insures, it is advisable to include specific tenant covenants:

1. •

   against insuring the building (to avoid the risk of double insurance and the possible effect this might have on the recovery of insurance monies under the landlord's policy)

2. •

   not to do, or fail to do, anything which would lead to the landlord's insurance becoming void or voidable

For further guidance, see Practice Note: Insurance—non-vitiation (non-invalidation) clauses.

Policies usually include a 'noted interest' clause which entitles tenants to be notified of any claim, or