Extended cover
- Fire, smoke and lightning strike
- Storm from force 7 upwards
- Water damage and leakage
- Burglary damage
Several households · fire safety · permits
Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for rooms let
To insurers, letting by the room is not a home with tenants but a property with several households, and that moves the whole assessment to fire compartmentation and permits.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Opstalverzekering kamerverhuur.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
As soon as a home is let to more than one household, the form of use changes. There are more cooking points, more electrical appliances on old circuits, more doors that must be closed at night and more people who have to know the escape route. Insurers assess this as a risk category of its own and virtually never place it on an ordinary home policy.
Acceptance therefore turns on fire safety: smoke alarms on each floor and in each habitable room, self-closing fire doors, compartmentation that keeps the fire within a room, a clear and lit escape route and an inspected electrical installation. These points appear as prevention conditions on your policy schedule and are not advice but obligations.
There is also the public-law side. Many municipalities require a conversion or withdrawal permit for letting by the room and set requirements for the number of occupants. If that permit is missing, the property is being used contrary to its designated use and insurance usually cannot be arranged.
What does buildings insurance for letting rooms cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Comprehensive
All sudden and unforeseen damage from outside, unless excluded.
- Unnamed causes included
- A small mishap while doing DIY
- Less discussion when you claim
Basis of value
Rebuild value with a guarantee against underinsurance, or a valuation.
- Rebuild value calculator
- Valuation under 7:960 DCC
- Guarantee on your policy schedule
What is covered
| Situation | Extended | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| Fire, smoke and lightning damage | Yes | Yes |
| Storm damage from force 7 upwards | Yes | Yes |
| Water damage from a burst pipe | Yes | Yes |
| Burglary damage to doors and frames | Yes | Yes |
| Drilling through a pipe while doing DIY | No | Yes |
| Subsidence, pile rot and deferred maintenance | No | No |
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Compartmentation is the heart of the policy here
In a family home, fire is an event in a building; with room letting it is an event in a building where people who do not know one another are asleep. Insurers therefore require every room to have a fire-resisting, self-closing door and the escape route to remain clear. A door wedged open is a breach of the prevention condition. Record with photographs and invoices what has been installed, and check it whenever occupants change.
No permit, no cover
On acceptance the insurer asks about the conversion or withdrawal permit and about the number of occupants permitted. If you let to more people than permitted, or the permit was never applied for, the actual use falls outside what was declared. On a claim the insurer can then rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 DCC. Also check whether the zoning plan allows occupation by the room before you let the first room.
As landlord you are liable for the building
If an occupant is injured because a handrail comes loose, a balcony railing gives way or a central heating installation leaks carbon monoxide, you are liable as the possessor of a defective structure under Article 6:174 DCC. That is not buildings damage but an injury claim, and it runs through liability cover for the building. With room letting, where more people live on more floors, that cover is not an addition but a basic element.
What is not on your policy
Your occupants' contents are not insured; each tenant arranges that themselves and you put it in the tenancy agreement. Also excluded are damage from cannabis cultivation or other illegal use, damage arising because a prevention condition was not met, and gradual damage such as damp patches from a bathroom that has ventilated poorly for years. Wilful damage by occupants is not covered as standard and calls for a separate extension.
Liability as landlord
As owner you are liable for defects in the property. Liability cover for the building is not a luxury here.
A guarantee against underinsurance is not automatic
If you fill in the insurer's rebuild value calculator correctly, you will usually receive a guarantee against underinsurance: in the event of a claim the actual amount is paid, even if the sum insured turns out to be too low. Your policy schedule states whether you have that guarantee. Without it, the proportionality rule applies, and that also affects small claims.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of rooms let and occupants — More households under one roof means more cooking points and a higher likelihood of fire.
- Fire safety provisions — Smoke alarms, self-closing fire doors and a clear escape route count heavily in the underwriting.
- Condition of the electrical installation — A recent inspection and enough circuits per room prevent overloading and lower the risk.
- Permit and permitted use — A conversion or withdrawal permit that has been granted is a condition of acceptance with most insurers.
- Year of construction and layout of the property — A timber floor structure with an open stairwell is assessed differently from a concrete frame.
- Modules chosen — Loss of rent per room, liability for the building and cover for damage caused by tenants are separate choices.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
Can I keep room letting on my existing home insurance?
No. A home policy assumes occupation by one household. Letting by the room is a different form of use with a demonstrably higher fire risk and its own acceptance framework. If you fail to report the change, on a claim the insurer can rely on Articles 7:928 and 7:930 DCC and reduce or refuse payment, even for a claim that has nothing to do with the letting.
What fire safety requirements does an insurer usually set?
Usually smoke alarms on each floor and in every habitable room, self-closing fire doors between the room and the corridor, compartmentation that keeps the fire within the room, a clear and recognisable escape route, and an inspected electrical installation with enough circuits. For larger properties a linked fire alarm system is sometimes added. What applies to you appears as a prevention condition on your policy schedule.
Do I need a permit from the local authority?
In many municipalities, yes: letting by the room requires a conversion or withdrawal permit, sometimes with a maximum number of occupants and requirements about noise and bicycle storage. Insurers ask for that permit on acceptance. If it is missing, the property is being used contrary to its designated use and the insurance usually does not come about.
Are my occupants' belongings included?
Not on your policy. You insure the building and, if you installed them yourself, the fixtures such as kitchens and sanitary ware. Each occupant's contents, including laptops and bicycles, fall under that occupant's own home contents insurance. Include in the tenancy agreement that each tenant arranges that themselves, so that no misunderstanding arises after a fire.
Read more
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About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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This page was written and checked by an adviser at Finass Verzekert. Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.