High winds and torrential rain have battered many parts of the UK this week causing havoc for home owners – including those with landlord insurance.

The new year has seen storms lash the country with gale-force winds and flooding being a major concern.
Such has been the ferocity of the weather that roofs have been torn off and trees felled as 2012 has come in with a bang.

Rivers in some areas are also said to be close to bursting after hours of heavy rain.

The bad weather has come during one of the warmest winters on record.

So far this season, the cold and freezing temperatures which brought Britain to a standstill for two consecutive years has been absent.

While many landlords will have breathed a sigh of relief that they do not have to deal with burst pipes, the relatively balmy conditions have created new problems in terms of the current storms.

For many, the damage has been done already, but landlords who have been lucky and escaped this time round need to check their property carefully to see if they have done everything to protect their homes in case of similar weather in the future.

Roof tiles are particularly vulnerable and landlords would be wise to check how secure they are by using a qualified expert, if necessary.

Landlords should also make sure they are protected by insurance for rented property just in case the worst should happen.