Do you need home insurance (seguro de hogar) as a tenant?

Key rules

• Landlord's policy: It covers the building, not your belongings or your liability.
• Legal duty: You only have to insure if your lease has a clause requiring it.
• Named tenant: Make sure the policy names you as tenant, or liability to the landlord may not be covered.
• Without insurance: You still pay for damage you cause.

Should you insure your home as a tenant?

Yes, in most cases. Your landlord's policy covers the building, not your things and not the damage you cause. A tenant policy covers your belongings (contenido) and your responsabilidad civil, which is your legal liability for damage you cause to others.

What the landlord's policy covers

A landlord's policy normally insures the building and its fixed parts (continente). It sometimes includes furniture or appliances the landlord supplies. It does not cover your clothes, electronics or personal furniture. If you want those covered, you need your own policy.

Ask your landlord what their policy includes. That tells you what you can leave out of yours, and what you must cover yourself.

Does the law make you take it?

No. Spanish rental law does not oblige a tenant to take home insurance. A landlord can require it only through a clause in the lease. Clauses asking for reasonable cover, such as liability insurance, are normally accepted.

Read your lease before you sign. If there is no such clause, you have no duty to insure. You are still liable for damage you cause, with or without a policy. Without insurance, you would pay for it yourself.

What responsabilidad civil covers

This is the most important part of a tenant policy. It covers damage you cause by accident or negligence to:

• Neighbours, for example from a water leak or a fire that spreads.
• The community of owners.
• Visitors.
• Often the landlord's building, when you are at fault.

It also pays your legal defence costs.

Tenant policies cover your liability for the rented home. Owner policies cover liability as owner, such as building defects. Many policies cover your liability to the landlord only if you are declared as the tenant. Make sure the policy names you as tenant.

What a sensible tenant policy includes

• Contents cover for your belongings.
• Responsabilidad civil, with a liability limit that suits you. Limits commonly run from 150,000 to 600,000 euros, and some policies go higher.
• You named as tenant on the policy.

Check the exclusions. Common ones are intentional acts, wear and tear, professional activity, damage to your own property, and fines.

Shared flats and rooms

If you rent a room, the landlord's policy still does not cover your belongings. Ask whether your housemates are covered by the same policy or each need their own. A policy should say clearly who is insured. If you share a lease, check that every named tenant is covered.

If your lease requires cover, give your landlord a copy of the policy. The checklist below walks you through these steps.

Checklist

• Read your lease for a clause that requires you to take home insurance.

• Ask your landlord which parts of the flat their own policy covers, so you know your belongings are not included.

• Choose a tenant policy that covers your contents and your responsabilidad civil (personal liability for damage to others).

• Check the policy's liability limit and exclusions, such as intentional acts, wear and tear, professional activity and fines.

Frequently asked questions

Does my landlord's insurance cover my clothes and electronics?

No, your landlord's policy does not cover your clothes, electronics or personal furniture. It normally insures the building and its fixed elements, and sometimes furniture or appliances the landlord supplied. To cover your own belongings, you need your own policy.

What does responsabilidad civil cover in a tenant policy?

Responsabilidad civil covers your legal liability for damage you cause by accident or negligence to neighbours, the community, visitors and often the landlord's building. A water leak into the flat below is a typical case. It also pays legal defence costs, but not intentional acts, wear and tear or fines.

Do I still pay if I damage the flat and have no insurance?

Yes, you are still liable for damage you cause, even if your lease has no insurance clause. Without a policy you would pay the cost yourself, which is why liability cover is worth having.