© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
© 2025 News On The Block. All rights reserved.
News on the Block is a trading name of Premier Property Media Ltd.
Sometimes it is confusing to Leaseholders when they suffer a loss and find the building insurer says the damaged items are not insured and they must submit their claim to their contents insurer. The most common type of insurance claim for residential blocks of flats is for water damage where water from a flat above leaks into your home.
The easiest way to differentiate between what can be claimed on the buildings policy and your contents insurer is to think: “If I move could I take this with me?”.
The best way to understand this concept is to use examples:
Fitted kitchen units are damaged by water from above; you would not remove them and take them with you if you moved home and therefore the damage is claimable under the building policy and not contents.
Furniture is moveable and is therefore not insured by the building insurer.
The most common misunderstanding arises about carpets because these would often be left if you moved home however they could be taken with you and are classed by insurers as moveable; this means they are not covered by the building policy but you must claim for them from your contents insurer.
What about water damage to fitted wardrobes and the clothes inside? The damage to the wardrobes is claimable on the buildings policy but the clothes are not covered and so should be claimed for from your contents insurer.
Does fault make any difference? The short answer is no. It will probably never be your fault water leaked into your home and damaged your property. However it will also rarely be your neighbours fault either, since legally it is difficult to prove negligence on their part. The easiest, quickest and simplest way for you to recover from your loss is to claim from your building insurer (via your Managing Agent) for the damage to your fixtures and fittings and from your contents insurer the damage to your contents.
If you rent your property then you will need to take out your own specialist Landlords insurance in your own name. Standard Block of Flats Buildings policies are not designed to cover you as an individual landlord.
You should also refer to your lease. Most leases make the Freeholder responsible for insuring the Building and the Leaseholder responsible for paying the buildings insurance premium but some leases contain strange clauses which say, for example, that the Freeholder does not have to insure “tenant’s improvements”. This can mean the Freeholder does not have to insure built in wardrobes or expensive fireplaces which are now part of the Building. This is not normally a problem because the Buildings policy will usually include them anyway however if you suffer a large loss the Insurer will ask to see a copy of the lease and may try to avoid paying for items the Freeholder is not responsible for insuring. Check your cover now so you are prepared before a leak or claim occurs.