Buildings insurance for leasehold property
The policy schedule does not tell you who had to insure.
Keep the lease duty, the cover arranged and the cost charged to leaseholders as three separate questions.
Start here
Read three documents before reaching a view.
The insurance covenant
Find who must arrange insurance, which risks must be covered, how the premium is recovered and whether the lease sets any conditions or consultation route.
The actual cover
Check the insurer, insured sum, risks, exclusions, excesses, policy period and the process for notifying and handling a claim.
The price and disclosure
Keep the premium, tax, remuneration, shopping-around information and any service-charge apportionment visible rather than reducing them to one total.
Work through it
Keep obligation, cover and cost in separate columns.
- 01
Read the lease
Quote the insurance and service-charge clauses. Buildings insurance is not a universal free-standing legal requirement, although it is commonly required by a lease or mortgage.
- 02
Read the policy
Use the current schedule and wording, not a renewal invoice alone. Note the insured building, risks, exclusions, limits and excesses.
- 03
Read the disclosure pack
For a relevant multi-occupancy policy, look for cover, pricing, remuneration, placement and conflict information required by the FCA rules.
- 04
Read the claim record
For a live loss, preserve the date, cause, damage, notification, adjuster response, decisions and payments separately from the annual premium question.
Take the next step in LEASE-iQ
What must be insured, by whom and at whose cost?
Use this for buildings insurance, policy schedules, excesses, terrorism cover or a claim route.
Keep checking: The lease sets obligations. Only the current policy and insurer can establish the cover actually in force for a claim.
Open the sources
Check the covenant, the policy and the disclosure.
This guide is for organising buildings-insurance questions. It does not advise on the suitability of a policy, decide an insurance claim or determine whether a premium is recoverable in a particular case.
Disclosure rules for multi-occupancy buildings insurance
↗Independent guidanceLeasehold Advisory ServiceCurrent independent guide to responsibility, cover and costs
↗Independent guidanceLeasehold Advisory ServiceCurrent independent guide to seeing insurance information
↗Sources and current regulatory status checked 18 August 2026. FCA rules apply within their defined scope. The lease and policy remain essential to the individual building.
