What your landlord's policy does — and does not — do for you
There is a policy on the house you live in. It is not for you, it does not cover your things, and in some circumstances it points back in your direction.
The short version
- A landlord’s property insurance does not cover a tenant’s belongings. Tenancy Services states this directly.
- Furniture and appliances provided under the agreement are the landlord’s to insure — and are not covered by your contents policy.
- The landlord must tell you in the tenancy agreement whether the property is insured, and the excess amount.
- They must also state that the policy is available on request, and update you if it changes.
- The excess matters to you because it can cap what you owe for careless damage.
Two policies, one house
The building you live in is insured by the person who owns it. That policy exists to rebuild the house after a fire, to repair it after a storm, to replace the landlord's oven, and — where the landlord has bought the cover — to replace rent they lose while the place is uninhabitable.
None of that is about you. Tenancy Services puts it in one sentence: your landlord's property insurance does not cover your belongings. There is no shared-benefit arrangement, no automatic extension to the occupant, and no entitlement to claim on it.
The chattels line
Rentals often come with a fridge, a washing machine, curtains, sometimes furniture. Those are chattels, and the tenancy agreement is required to list them. They belong to the landlord, and Tenancy Services is explicit that damage to them will not be covered by the tenant's contents insurance.
The landlord may or may not have insured them. Tower publishes cover of up to $20,000 for a rental's whiteware and window coverings on its Landlord's Plus policy, making the point on its own site that this removes the need for a separate contents policy for appliances and curtains. State sells a landlord's contents policy as a standalone product. What your particular landlord has bought is their business — but if you break their dryer, whether they carry that cover is going to matter to both of you.
What you are entitled to be told
This is where a lot of renters are unaware of a right they already have. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord must, in any new tenancy agreement:
- state whether the property is insured;
- state the excess amount of any relevant policy;
- include a statement telling you that the insurance policy is available on request;
- tell you within a reasonable time if any of that changes.
Not providing that information, or providing false or misleading information, is an unlawful act. If it is missing from your agreement, asking for it is not an imposition — it is a legal entitlement, and the excess in particular is directly relevant to your own financial exposure.
When it points back at you
If you carelessly damage the property and the landlord claims, you can be liable up to four weeks' rent or the landlord's excess, whichever is lower. The mechanics of that cap are here. The landlord's policy pays the repair; the excess is the part they will look to recover.
That is the whole argument for a renter holding personal liability cover, and it is unaffected by how little your own possessions are worth. More on liability cover.
Questions people actually ask
- Does my landlord's insurance cover my stuff?
- No. Tenancy Services states it directly: your landlord's property insurance does not cover your belongings. It insures the building and, where the landlord has bought that cover, the furniture and appliances they provide.
- Am I entitled to know if the property is insured?
- Yes. A landlord must state in any new tenancy agreement whether the property is insured and the excess amount of any relevant policy, and must include a statement that the policy is available on request. If that information changes they must tell you within a reasonable time.
- Why does the excess matter to me?
- Because it can set the ceiling on what you owe. Careless damage makes a tenant liable up to four weeks' rent or the landlord's excess, whichever is lower — so a low excess means a low ceiling, and you cannot know which applies without knowing the excess.
- Who insures the landlord's furniture and appliances?
- The landlord. Tenancy Services says any damage to furniture or other items provided under the agreement will not be covered by the tenant's contents insurance. Landlord's contents cover is a separate thing the landlord buys — Tower, for example, publishes whiteware and window covering cover of up to $20,000 on Landlord's Plus.
- Can the landlord's insurer come after me?
- A landlord can claim against you for damage you are liable for, within the statutory cap for careless damage. That is one of the reasons the liability section of a contents policy exists.
Where this comes from
The disclosure duties, the chattels position and the statement that a landlord's policy does not cover tenant belongings are from Tenancy Services (MBIE), Insurance (updated 18 March 2026) and Tenancy agreements (updated 29 June 2026). Insurer figures retrieved 8 September 2026 from Tower and State.
Not sure what you actually need? Ask someone who does this all day
Tell us what you are renting and what you own. We will introduce you to a registered local broker who can look at it properly — including telling you if the cover you already have is enough. No sales pitch, no hard sell.
Free to you. We are paid by the broker only if you take out a policy — it does not change your premium.