Flat shares and HMOs
Who insures what when four people rent one house, and why a joint policy is cheaper until somebody claims.
In a house of multiple occupation, each tenant is usually on a separate tenancy for a room, with shared use of the kitchen and bathroom. That structure decides the insurance: the landlord insures the building and their contents, and each tenant insures their own belongings. A joint policy is possible when everyone is on one tenancy, and it is usually the cheaper route.
Individual policies
- Each tenant covers their own contents, with their own excess and their own claims record
- One person's claim does not affect the others at renewal
- More expensive in total, and communal items are nobody's responsibility
Joint policies
- One premium for the household, usually 20 to 40 per cent cheaper than separate policies
- Every named tenant shares the claims history, so a claim by one follows all of you
- Communal furniture and shared equipment can be listed properly
Check the tenancy structure first
Joint and several liability tenancies make everyone responsible for the whole rent and the whole deposit. That is the situation where joint insurance makes most sense, because the risk is already shared in the contract.
Communal damage
The awkward question in every share: who pays when nobody admits to breaking the oven door. Liability cover responds to the person legally liable, and in a joint tenancy that can mean all of you. In a room-by-room HMO, the landlord usually absorbs communal wear and tear and pursues individual damage against the deposit of the tenant responsible.
What landlords cannot insure for you
A landlord's HMO policy covers the building, their furniture and their liability to you. It does not cover your laptop, your clothes or your bike. It also does not cover your liability to the landlord for damage you cause, which is exactly what tenant liability insurance exists for.
Related: students and what the landlord insures.
Reviewed 29 October 2026. Information only, not financial advice.