If you're renting privately and someone hands you a pack at move-in that mentions insurance, a deposit alternative or a guarantor, the natural question is whether you actually have to agree to it, or whether it's being offered as if it were compulsory when it isn't. The answer depends on which product it is, which nation you're renting in, and how it was put to you: required outright, or offered as an alternative to something else such as a deposit. None of what follows is legal advice; it sets out what the relevant legislation says, and you should read the text itself before relying on it for your own situation.
Why landlords ask you to buy something at move-in
A landlord's own buildings insurance covers the structure of the property: the walls, the roof, the fixed installations. It does not cover your belongings, and it does not cover accidental damage you cause to the things the landlord provides, such as a hob or a carpet. That gap is real, which is why agents and landlords often raise contents insurance, tenant's liability cover, or a deposit-replacement product at the point you sign the tenancy. Raising it isn't the problem. The problem is when it's presented as something you have no choice about, when the law in your nation says otherwise.
What a landlord is actually allowed to require
The rules aren't the same across the UK, and a rule that applies in England doesn't automatically apply in Wales or Scotland. Each nation has its own legislation governing what a landlord or agent can ask a tenant to pay or hold as a condition of the tenancy, and each has to be read on its own terms.
England
In England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 sets out which payments a landlord or agent is allowed to ask a tenant for. A payment outside that list is a prohibited payment, whatever name it's given. Where a specific insurance product falls on either side of that line depends on the wording of the Act itself, which is why the can my landlord make me buy this? tool quotes the relevant section directly, with the date it was read.
Wales
Wales has its own legislation, the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, and it has to be read separately from the English Act even though the two sound similar. A requirement that would be unlawful in England isn't automatically unlawful in Wales for the same reason, and the reverse is also true. If you rent in Wales, check the Welsh Act's own wording.
Scotland
Scotland's position sits under its own framework, including the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984. Again, this is a distinct piece of legislation from the Acts covering England and Wales, and it doesn't borrow their wording or their limits. A renter in Scotland needs the Scottish text.
Northern Ireland isn't covered here for the same reason: stating a position without having read the relevant legislation first would be worse than saying nothing.
The products you're likely to be asked about
Several different products tend to get mentioned in the same conversation at move-in, and they aren't interchangeable. Treating them as one thing is one of the easiest ways to end up agreeing to something you didn't need to.
- Contents insurance covers your own belongings, which your landlord's policy doesn't. The guide to contents insurance for renters sets out what's typically included and what to check before you take a policy out.
- Tenant's liability cover is about accidental damage to things your landlord provides, such as fixtures and furnishings, and how that connects to what happens to your deposit. The tenant's liability cover guide follows a damaged item through to the deposit return.
- A deposit-replacement product is not a deposit. You pay a non-refundable fee, but you remain liable for damage or arrears, and if the provider pays your landlord on your behalf you then owe that money to the provider. The deposit replacement and guarantor services guide explains how that works and when a landlord can require it.
- A guarantor service stands in for a personal guarantor and is a separate arrangement from a deposit-replacement product, even though the two are often offered together.
- Pet cover has its own rules in England following the Renters' Rights Act 2025, covered in the pets and insurance guide.
Common mistakes people make
Most problems here come from treating what an agent says as the same thing as what the law says.
- Assuming a requirement is lawful because it's written into the paperwork. Being asked to sign something doesn't make the request compliant with the legislation that actually governs it.
- Assuming England's rule applies everywhere. A tenant in Cardiff or Edinburgh who reads about the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and applies it to their own tenancy is reading the wrong Act.
- Confusing a deposit-replacement product with a deposit. The fee doesn't come back, and the liability for damage or arrears doesn't go away, it just moves to a different party.
- Treating contents insurance and tenant's liability cover as the same product because an insurer sells them in one bundle. They cover different things and answer different questions.
What to do if you've been told you must buy something
Start by working out exactly which product you've been asked to take, and exactly how it was put to you: required, or offered as an alternative to something else such as a deposit. That distinction changes the answer. From there, check what your nation's legislation actually says about that specific product.
The can my landlord make me buy this? tool takes your nation and the product you've been asked to take and returns the relevant statutory text, quoted at section level with the date it was read, along with something you can put to the agent or landlord. It runs in your browser and doesn't collect anything you type. Like any tool working from a snapshot of legislation, it can be wrong or out of date, so treat it as a starting point for checking the text yourself rather than a final word on your situation.