FAQs
Here you can find our most commonly answered questions. If you have any further queries, please contact us here.
Landlord legal expenses insurance helps protect you from the cost and stress of legal disputes linked to renting out your property. It can cover legal costs for issues such as repossessing your property, recovering unpaid rent, tenant disputes, and defending property related prosecutions, while also giving you access to expert legal advice when you need it.
You usually can’t buy landlord legal expenses insurance on its own. It’s typically offered as an optional addon when you take out another insurance policy, such as landlord buildings or contents insurance, through an insurer or broker that partners with ARAG.
The policy can cover solicitors’ and barristers’ fees, court costs, and your opponent’s legal costs (if awarded by the court) for insured disputes. Cover commonly includes repossession, recovery of rent arrears, property damage, nuisance or trespass, and property related prosecution defence. Some policies also include alternative accommodation or storage costs and optional rent indemnity.
No. Claims are not covered if the dispute or circumstances existed before your policy started. The insurance is designed to cover unexpected legal problems that arise during the policy period.
No. It’s important that you speak to us as soon as possible after a dispute arises so we can discuss the best way to proceed. We will not cover any costs you incur before we have agreed to cover your claim – for example, the cost of consulting your own lawyer.
In most cases, ARAG will appoint a solicitor from its panel of specialist law firms. However, once legal proceedings have been issued, or if there is a conflict of interest, you may have the right to choose your own lawyer, in line with the policy terms.
You can call the legal advice helpline for guidance on a wide range of landlord and tenancy related legal issues. This includes tenant disputes, repossessions, ending a tenancy, property maintenance obligations, and tax related questions connected to your rental property.
There is no fixed limit on how often you can call, but all helpline services are subject to fair and reasonable use. If usage becomes excessive, ARAG may place restrictions after giving you notice.
Yes. Landlord legal expenses insurance can help you pursue the recovery of unpaid rent arrears from tenants, including covering the legal costs involved, provided the claim meets the policy’s terms and has reasonable prospects of success.
Yes, as long as the notice has been served correctly and it is valid, provided that a claim is issued by the court by no later than 31st July 2026, you can still evict your tenants using that notice.
es, for notices served prior to 1st May 2026, you can still use a valid Sectio n8 notice to evict tenants for rent arrears (subject to complying with the relevant rules), but you need to issue the claim with the court by 31st July 2026. Thereafter, you can stil use the Section 8 process for rent arrears claims but you will need to give 4 weeks' notice to the tenants (as opposed to two weeks' notice under the current rules). In addition, the court does not have to grant an order for possession of a property unless there are three months' rent outstanding at the date the notice is served and the hearing date.
No, all residential tenancies to which the Renters Rights Act 2025 applies will be periodic tenancies with no fixed term.
No, under the changes brought into effect by the Renters Rights Act 2025, a tenant needs to serve a notice to quit in writing to end a tenancy (unless a mutual agreement has bene reached with the landlord).
