Holiday Let Cottage Legal Expenses Insurance

What would you do if…

• A guest at your holiday let threatens to sue you because you have deducted from their security deposit for damage and extra cleaning incurred.

• What you thought was a genuine holiday home booking has turned out to be a sublet scammer who has advertised your property for let and has duped victims into handing over deposits for a rental. The “tenant” moves in and refuses to leave.

• Holidaymakers cause a trail of destruction at your holiday home and you want to pursue them for the cost of damages.

• A holidaymaker books to stay at your holiday cottage for a week and subsequently refuses to leave.

• A guest fails to pay the outstanding balance for the rental of your holiday home and you want to pursue them for the loss of rental.

• H M Revenue and customs investigate your personal tax affairs.

All these are examples of problems holiday home owners face. Although stressful to deal with, you don’t have to face them on your own. Expert help is available.

What does legal expenses insurance cover?

As a holiday home owner you may rarely encounter problems with your holiday let tenants, however if you do, the costs of litigation can be prohibitive. Legal expenses insurance covers the costs of potential legal disputes faced by holiday home landlords.

To summarise, the holiday home ownership legal expenses policy offered by Schofields covers:

– Consumer protection
Disputes over the selling buying or hiring of any goods or services for your private use in relation to the holiday home. This includes selling or buying the holiday home.

– Residential
Civil claims relating to physical damage to your holiday home.

– Eviction of overstaying guests
Eviction Proceedings against a guest to recover possession of the holiday home where the guest stays beyond the agreed period of occupancy.

– Property infringement
Any nuisance or trespass matters against the person or organisation infringing your legal rights in relation to the holiday home.

– Tax protection cover
In the event of an H M Revenue and Customs Full Enquiry into your personal tax affairs, we will negotiate for and represent you in any appeal proceedings.

Limit of indemnity – The maximum payable in respect of an insured incident is £25,000. Note: claims are subject to £25 excess.

It’s important to note that typically policies will not pay costs for legal proceedings if there are not reasonable prospects of success or if any expected settlement is small compared to the time and expense involved.

How to take out cover

The holiday home legal expenses insurance is an add-on to our holiday home insurance. Full details will be provided to both new customers and renewals. To find out more or add it to your policy call 01204 365080.

Note: the insurance is only available for properties in the UK.

For many holiday home owners the cover is a valuable safeguard to meet the potentially high costs of disputes. Expert advice from legal professionals is always available.