The housing market has always been an attractive prospect for investors hoping to grow their money outside of the traditional banking or stock portfolio solutions. One recent trend that has proven to be fairly lucrative is the purchase of buy to let properties near universities, as these properties are virtually always desired by students, and a steady flow of income is virtually assured. However, owners of such properties should recognize that students are historically noted to be an unruly bunch, and that a property destroyed by a misbehaved gang of freshers living on their own for the first time will not be protected by basic home owner’s insurance!

Instead, it is necessary for landlords to purchase special landlord insurance which provides protection against various circumstances that landlords, especially those renting to students, are all but guaranteed to face. It is critically important, however, to distinguish between different landlord insurance policies, as different policies protect against different circumstances that the landlord might face. One good idea, for instance, is for landlords to insure against legal expenses incurred by situations such as evictions, the infringement of property by squatters and other individuals who are not legal tenants, the need to prosecute tenants for non-payment of rent, and so on. In most cases this will be sufficient protection for landlords. However, in some cases, such as when renting to young students, or tenants who seem to be a bit more inclined towards wanton destruction, it may be necessary to purchase additional home emergency protection, which covers emergencies relating to the very infrastructure of the property, such as burst pipes, gas explosions, electrical fires, boiler failures, toilets overflowing, and sinks or tubs backing up. To determine your exact insurance needs as a landlord, it is always advisable to seek out the qualified services of experienced insurance brokers.

For landlords seeking the absolute strongest protections available, it is also possible to purchase landlord’s insurance that provides a “rent guarantee”. With this policy, insurance companies will pay rent to a landlord during times when either a tenant refuses to pay, or when a property goes unoccupied. This is a great way for a landlord to be certain that, no matter what happens, he or she will continue to draw an income on his or her investment.

Of course, no matter what insurance policy you purchase, there is no substitute for directly communicating with your tenant. By communicating exactly what is expected of them in terms of treatment of your property and issues related to safety, arguments and disagreeable circumstances can sometimes be entirely avoided. Maintaining on-going communications with tenants (such as by dropping in for a few minutes a month to ask questions) also helps to ensure that the property is being treated appropriately, and can defuse troublesome situations before they escalate into difficult legal issues.

Renting buy to let properties out to students, even freshers, can be a rewarding and profitable experience, and one made all the more attractive by the shoddy state of banks and other traditional investment opportunities at this point in time. Just as one would protect any other investment, however, the wise owner will purchase landlord insurance to make the most of his or her buy to let property.