1. See if your home insurance provider will offer discount on your landlord insurance. Many companies will offer a discount for multiple insurance policies.
2. Consider increasing the policy excess. An insurance company will see you as a smaller risk of making small claims.
3. Installing up to date safety features such as alarms and fire extinguishers will often give you a discount on your premium.
4. Shop around online for hundreds of different insurance companies.

However it is important to consider the type of cover as well as the price. Check that the type of cover provided is what you need. A good insurance policy will cover sheds, garages, personal property and furnishings against disasters such as fire, flood and theft. Other things that may also be included are liability cover, loss of rent, legal expenses and unoccupied properties.

Ensuring the property is fully insured is the best way to protect your investment in the case of disaster. Check that you have not under insured your property otherwise you won’t have enough to rebuild if an accident happens. You have invested a lot into your buy-to-let property so make sure that it’s safe.

With the increasing interest on credit card repayments those in rented accommodation could struggle to make their rental payments as well as make credit card repayments, falling into rent arrears.

Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action said, “Using a credit card to make purchases has become so much a part of their everyday lives that they are dependent on it to get by. This is massively worrying because it is not sustainable for the economy or for individuals.

Property investors should protect themselves from tenant arrears by ensuring they take out the appropriate buy-to-let insurance which includes cover for tenant arrears and the legal costs involved.

For more information on Landlord Property Insurance as well as Legal Expenses & Rent Guarantee Insurance visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

While the housing market is still fluctuating many homeowners are considering renting instead of selling their properties. This means their home insurance policies will no longer be valid and they will need to take out a landlord’s insurance policy that covers the increased risks of renting.

Although tenant demand is on the rise and lenders are slowly re-introducing good value buy-to-let mortgages the right insurance is vital to protect your investment. Last year, one in three landlords had tenant arrears, so take out a policy that includes rent guarantee to protect the rental income if tenants can’t pay, and legal expenses should they arise for example in the case of repossession, tenant default and debt recovery.

Julie Owens from moneysupermarket.com said, “Landlord insurance which includes Rent Guarantee cover or legal expenses can be more expensive, however if things go wrong between a landlord and tenant legal proceedings can involve a hefty cost. It is important to have a good contract in place to know where each party stands should the tenant and landlord relationship fall sour.

“I advise insuring yourself against these circumstances before they arise, it is always better to be prepared and there are a number of suitable insurance policies for landlords on the market.”

For a more information about landlord insurance or legal expenses and rent guarantee insurance products visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

In recent years Christmas and New Year has seen insurers receiving up to 50% more claims than expected for the time of year as a result of the freezing weather. More of these claims are for damage caused by escape of water than for fire or theft.

Halifax Home Insurance said that 1 in 10 claims in the early part of December 2009 were for burst pipes which increased to 1 in 6 at the beginning of January 2010.

During 2008 claims for burst pipes cost insurers £800 million yet homeowners still underestimate the risk. 57% worry about burglaries while they are away at Christmas but only 8% were concerned about burst pipes.

Research by Axa shows the average burst pipe claim they paid in winter 2008 was about £15,000. Most insurance policies will cover damage caused by freezing water and leaking water from tanks, pipes and heating systems, however home owners are being urged to take preventative measures in order to avoid expensive damage to homes, loss of personal possessions and increased insurance premiums. A burst pipe is a massive inconvenience for any home owners especially over the festive period.

How to avoid disaster

Freezing and expanding water in the pipes is the most common cause of burst pipes. Below are a few simple steps to take if you are going away over winter to dramatically reduce the odds of a burst pipe.

• If you are going away set your central heating to come on for at least 15 minutes every morning and evening.
• Consider completely draining your system if you are going away for long periods over winter.
• Lag your loft, cold water storage tank and water pipes.
• Leave your kitchen cupboards and bathroom cabinets open as well as your loft hatch if you have a cold water tank in your loft to allow warm air to circulate around any pipe and to stop the temperature getting too low.
• Turn off the water supply at the stopcock so that water from the mains will not pump through if there is a burst pipe.
• When you are away get someone to check the property regularly especially when temperatures start to rise again and the thaw begins. Discovering the problem as soon as possible will reduce the amount of damage to the property.

For a home insurance or buy-to-let insurance quote visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

The statistics reveal that letting agents find tenants for 63% of properties within two weeks compared to 38% of properties rented directly by the landlords. The exact cost to landlords is not recorded however online letting agent Upad.co.uk estimated the cost of void periods could be up to £3 billion a year.

Two of the ten worst areas for empty properties were in Lancashire and areas in Surrey, Essex and Hampshire were also badly affected. In some areas 50% of rental properties have been empty for more than three months. There are 762,000 vacant homes in England with many of them in a poor state of repair and the owners unable or unwilling to sell them.

Kevin Firth, Director at DPS said, “Many landlords market their properties very effectively but the evidence we have compiled in the past two years demonstrates clearly that there is more they can learn to try to decrease void periods.

“In the current market- where demand for rental property far exceeds supply- there is no excuse for allowing properties to remain dormant and not earning income.”

For a buy-to-let insurance quote visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

A study by the website accommodationforstudents.com which analysed 59,000 properties in 84 university towns found that students going to university next month are paying record rents of £65.30 as a weekly average. This is said to be as a result of landlords increasing rents to make a profit in the economic downturn.

Students in London are paying the highest rents for private student accommodation with the average weekly rent at £102.80. Kingston is close behind with a weekly average of £101.68 and students in Guildford, Uxbridge, Cambridge, Exeter, Middlesex, St Andrews, Egham and Brighton can be expected to pay weekly rents of over £80.

However, on the other end of the scale Middlesbrough’s’ average rents are £41.47 a week and in Stoke-on-Trent, Hull, Pontypridd and Crewe average rents are under £50 a week.

Simon Thomson from accommodationforstudents.com has said that with minimum down payments for buy-to-let mortgages being 20 to 25% and landlords having more equity tied up in properties they have been forced to increase rents to make a profit.

For a landlords insurance quote visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

The survey by CHL Mortgages was completed in July and involved 622 landlord respondents. Although the majority (64%) of respondents were still positive, this figure has fallen from 81% at the start of the year. However, the number of landlords who are unsure about the future of the buy-to-let market is up from 9% to 25%.

This fall in confidence means landlords are considering their investments more carefully with only 28% of respondents saying they plan to purchase a new property, which is a drop of 10% from the previous survey. However 66% of landlords are looking to hold on to the properties they own in comparison to 53% at the start of the year.

46% of respondents stated lack of mortgage finance for new properties and remortgaging as the main reason for not adding to their buy-to-let property portfolios. In addition, 30% said the increased deposit requirements were a major factor.

Only 19% of landlords said that the 10% increase in CGT for higher rate payers has impacted their view of the buy-to-let sector as an investment.

Bob Young, Managing Director of CHL Mortgages said, “Given the speculation around the buy-to-let market over the last six months, particularly with regard to the increases in CGT and the potential for FSA regulation, it is perhaps unsurprising that landlords are less sure about the future for the sector than they were six months ago.

“It is therefore entirely understandable that landlords are adopting more of a wait and see approach with both the overall future of the sector and in terms of their own plans to add to their portfolios.

“Clearly, landlords would like to see greater access to finance and perhaps less hefty deposit requirements however this seems unlikely given the current climate. What comes across from the survey is a clear view of the buy-to-let market as one in which professional landlords dominate, which in our view is no bad thing.”

For a buy-to-let insurance quote visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

Research for Lloyds TSB found that property prices in 14 postal districts of east London have increased by an average of 26% since it was announced in 2005 that London would hold the 2012 Olympics.

The largest average increase of 69% was seen in Homerton, followed by Shoreditch with a 53% price increase, both of which are in the borough of Hackney where the average house price is now £262,953.

However not all areas of east London have benefitted from the same growth. Stratford- the home of the new Olympic stadium only saw a 3% increase. Plaistow was found to be the least expensive postal district with an average house price of £196,426 followed by West Ham at £203,500.

The increased investment into the area has seen increased interest from both property buyers and investors. The area of east London is set to benefit from upgraded facilities such as a 500 acre Olympic Park, several sporting complexes and updated transport links.

Suren Thiru, housing economists at Lloyds TSB said, “Part of this rise is likely to have been due to an increased interest in property in these locations from both buyers and investors as a result of the associated regeneration taking place.

“Looking forward, property prices across east London are likely to receive a boost from the legacy of improved infrastructure and transport links left by the London 2012.”

This could be good news for buy-to-let investors in the area who could benefit from increased rents. Research from Knight Frank suggests that the number of people looking to rent a property in London has increased by 17% over the last two years.

For a landlord property insurance visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

Social housing tenants want to move homes for many reasons including to remain near to their families, to find a job or to live in a peaceful, less crowded area but they are faced with difficulties due to shortages of homes available for rent and increased tenant demand.

There has been a 66% fall in the availability of homes to rent to existing tenants during the past 13 years. At the same time, the overall number of social homes available has declined by 500,000 while there has been a rapid increase in demand for social housing, with one in twelve households in England on the waiting list.

The study which was carried out by the Human City Institute estimates that the lack of social housing mobility is costing the UK around £542 million a year. This cost includes £305 million lost due to tenants being unable to move to care for sick relatives, £48 million lost on welfare payments and lost tax revenue which the government would receive if tenants who wanted jobs were able to move to areas to get work. A further £32 million is lost on educational under-achievement and £58 million on the criminal justice system.

Circle Anglia is calling for the Government to introduce a national register for landlords and local authorities to make it easier for social housing tenants in one local authority to move to another.

David Williams from Circle Anglia said, “Social housing residents want to move for a number of reasons, including health, to care for sick family members, to escape overcrowding or to seek work in more prosperous areas.

“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, it is near impossible to make the move on the transfer list, and the social and economic costs to the UK are devastating.

“With around half a million people on the social housing transfer list, if their landlords simply signed up to one national mutual exchange service we could create a fluid, free-market of house exchanges that would help so many people.”

For a landlord property insurance visit Discount Landlord Insurance.

The “community right to build” programme will allow people to build any type of property including houses, flats, shops and business space, on green belt land is enough of the local residents are in favour.

Currently, planning permission in green belt areas is only given rarely which often inhibits most types of development but the Government was to remove these restrictions with the hope of revitalising rural areas.

A large majority of local residents would have to vote in favour of any developments in the area in a local referendum in order to gain planning permission and avoiding the need to ask the council.

To stop the system being abused, communities will not be able to increase the size of a village by more than 10% over a 10 year period.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said, “Our problem is that the young people grow up and find they can’t afford to live in this village anymore. We believe that people have the right to stay in their community and if people want to build that community to make it a bit bigger and expand it a bit, within reason, they should have the powers to do that.

“The countryside must be a vibrant place to live, and cannot be allowed to become a museum. I want to give communities the power to preserve their villages, which are currently struggling to survive because of a shortage of affordable homes.”

He said that the proposals will give residents the chance to build new properties that are suitable and appropriate to the local area and developments will only go ahead with their overwhelming support.

However there were some negative responses to the proposals. Shadow housing minister John Healey said, “This plan will hand a veto to any local minority that wants to block new homes being built for the good of the village.”

James Moss, director at Curzon Investment Property said, “In the real world the only people with the time to attend planning meetings are those opposed to development. Giving people a say is fine but this will lead to even fewer homes being built at a time where we need to be supporting growth, not undermining it through some idealistic principle of empowerment.”

For more information on landlords insurance or home insurance visit Discount Landlord Insurance.