An article in the Insurance Times warns Subletting is not covered under most landlord insurance policies,’ repeating a warning by Direct Line’s landlord product manager, Sarah Casey, who said: “With the market having seen an increase in average rents in the last year, it is hardly surprising that a larger number of renters are tempted to offset this expense by subletting their property.

“Landlords and tenants need to be aware that sub-letting has serious insurance implications.”

She added: “Subletting is not covered under most landlord insurance policies, so it’s really important that landlords make tenants fully aware of the restrictions on the lease and maintain that communication to help prevent any breaches.”

The full article can be read here and goes on to say “Tenants also need to be aware that their contents insurance is very unlikely to cover any theft or damage to personal property in the event of subletting.

“It’s important that landlords perform regular checks on their rental property to ensure that only those listed on the tenancy agreement live in at the address.

“Should they become aware of any changes, it’s important that they deal with the situation swiftly and notify their insurer to make sure they have the appropriate landlord insurance in place.”

It also mentions Rightmove’s latest Rental Price Tracker showed that average asking rents for new tenants saw a 33% increase since 2019 – bumping the national average asking rents outside of London up to £1,231 per calendar month (pcm) in Q2 2023 and the average asking rents for new tenants in London up to £2,567 pcm.