Rent Protection · Renters' Rights Act 2026

Rent paid even when the tenant won't.

Eviction timelines are longer. Section 13 rent reviews can be challenged. Rent protection is no longer optional for a serious landlord — it's how you keep cash flow predictable while the Act beds in.

Kings Estates partners with Goodlord — the strongest rent-protection product on the market for landlords post-Renters' Rights Act. Up to £100,000 cover, 90 days' claim window, no excess on most claims, and full Section 13 cover if a tenant disputes a rent increase. Included free on our Platinum-managed tier; available as an add-on across our other service levels.

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Goodlord-underwritten cover
Up to £100,000 indemnity
Section 13 dispute cover (unique)

The headline cover

Rent paid until: Vacant possession — no 12 or 15 month cut-off
Total indemnity: £100,000 — rent + legal expenses
Max monthly rental cover: £10,000
Claim window: 90 days from first missed rent
Excess: Nil on claims made within 45 days

The commercial reality

The rent doesn’t stop. The mortgage doesn’t stop. Neither does the risk.

The Renters' Rights Act 2026 abolished Section 21 and made every new tenancy periodic. The practical effect: when something goes wrong with a tenancy, you can't simply end it. You have to serve a Section 8 notice, cite a valid possession ground, and — if the tenant doesn't leave voluntarily — go to court. Possession claims in the South East are currently averaging 6 to 11 months from notice to bailiff appointment.

During that period, the rent doesn't stop. The mortgage doesn't stop. The maintenance bills don't stop. A tenant in arrears can comfortably sit in your property for the best part of a year before they're physically removed. For a landlord without rent protection, that's tens of thousands of pounds of unpaid rent plus legal costs running parallel to it.

Rent protection is a guarantee. The insurer pays your rent — in full — for as long as it takes to regain vacant possession. They also pay the legal costs of pursuing possession, and (depending on policy tier) cover damage caused by the tenant, alternative accommodation if the property is uninhabitable, and the first month's rent gap during a tenancy change. Goodlord's policy, the one we offer, is the most comprehensive available to landlords letting through a managing agent.

How Goodlord compares

Side by side against the two policies a landlord typically considers.

Anonymised competitor data taken from Goodlord’s product comparison (correct at time of publication — cover terms change; we recheck this annually). Where Goodlord wins on a feature, the cell is highlighted gold.

Cover	GoodlordKings Estates partner	Provider 1	Provider 2
Rent paid until^*	Vacant possession	12 months	15 months
Nil excess	Yes	Yes	Yes
Total indemnity	£100,000	£250,000	£100,000
Vacant possession payment	90% for 6 weeks	50% for 3 months	75% for 3 months
Property damage cover^**	£1,000	—	—
Section 13 rent increase cover	Yes	—	—
First month's rent cover	Yes	—	—
Alternative accommodation & storage^***	Yes — 90 days	—	—
Claim window	90 days	90 days	90 days
Max monthly rental cover	£10,000	£5,000	£5,000

* Goodlord continues paying rent right up to the date you regain vacant possession — without a 12- or 15-month cap. Most competitor policies stop paying after 12-15 months even if proceedings are still running, which is exactly when a landlord most needs the cover.
** £1,000 property damage cover is included as standard on Goodlord. Neither competitor policy offers it; landlords on those products carry the entire damage risk separately.
*** Alternative accommodation and storage cover for up to 90 days where the property is rendered uninhabitable during a claim. Particularly valuable for older Tunbridge Wells / Kent properties where remedial works can take weeks.

RRA-era cover

Designed for the Renters’ Rights Act, not retrofitted to it.

The three biggest commercial risks the Act introduced — and how Goodlord’s product specifically addresses each one.

01 · The Act

Section 21 abolished

No-fault evictions are gone. To regain possession a landlord must now serve a Section 8 notice citing a valid ground (rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, sale, owner occupation, redevelopment). Possession claims in Kent and East Sussex are running 6 to 11 months from notice to bailiff.

Goodlord cover

Goodlord pays 100% of rent until vacant possession is achieved — with no 12 or 15 month cut-off. The rent doesn't stop, even when proceedings extend through the court backlog.

02 · The Act

Court delays and legal costs

Possession proceedings under the new framework are more procedurally rigorous and more contested than they were under Section 21. Legal costs alone routinely run £3,000 to £7,000 for a defended possession claim, before any bailiff fees.

Goodlord cover

Legal-expenses cover for evictions due to rent arrears, subletting, illegal activity or failure to vacate. Nil excess on rent-protection claims made within 45 days. Solicitors and proceedings are arranged by Goodlord directly — landlord doesn't need to instruct or attend.

03 · The Act

Section 13 rent reviews can be challenged

Annual rent rises are now served by Section 13 notice only, and a tenant can challenge the proposed rent at the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal can't raise the figure above the proposed rent — but it can lower it, and the tenant doesn't have to back-pay the difference during the challenge.

Goodlord cover

Goodlord covers the Section 13 increase for up to 6 months if the tenant refuses to pay the new amount — bridging the gap while the dispute resolves. The only product on the market that does this.

Why we chose Goodlord

The product that goes furthest under the new Act.

Kings Estates reviews its rent-protection partner annually. We compare every credible policy on the market — and Goodlord has been the clear leader since the Renters' Rights Act came into force. Three things set it apart specifically for landlords in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and East Sussex:

First: it pays until you have your property back, not until an arbitrary 12 or 15 month deadline. Given current Kent court backlog, that single difference is worth thousands of pounds of cover on a contested possession case.

Second: it's the only product that explicitly covers Section 13 disputes. Tenants challenging proposed rent rises — increasingly common — used to be entirely the landlord's risk to absorb. Goodlord bridges that gap for six months.

Third: it's underwritten by an insurer with a strong, peer-rated claims-handling reputation. We've made claims against rent-protection products with three of Goodlord's competitors over the years; the experience is incomparable. With Goodlord, the landlord doesn't manage the case — we do, and they take payment without administrative friction.

Why landlords take it

Operational simplicity, commercial protection.

No claim-window paperwork or eviction admin

Goodlord handles every procedural step. You don't manage notices, claim windows or court documentation — you authorise a possession instruction and we run the process.

No instructing solicitors or attending court

Possession proceedings are conducted by Goodlord's panel solicitors. You're kept informed at every step, but you never appear in court or sign client-care letters.

No coordinating bailiff appointments

Bailiff appointments — historically a 6 to 10 hour day for a self-managing landlord — are handled by Goodlord's instructed solicitors. You receive a date, a confirmation, and the keys back on completion.

Rent paid directly to you

Rent is paid into your nominated account at the contractual amount. There's no gap, no haircut, no reduced-rate cover. Your mortgage is paid on time, the property's running costs are met, and your investment performance stays predictable.

Peace of mind on every letting

The single most cited reason landlords add Rent Protection — particularly under the new Act. The downside risk of a defaulting tenant has materially increased; the cost of guaranteeing against it remains relatively low.

Flexible payment options

Annual upfront premium or monthly instalments, depending on portfolio cash-flow preferences. We'll quote both at the point of cover.

Agreed surrenders to secure vacant possession sooner

Where appropriate, Goodlord will broker an agreed surrender with the tenant — exchanging a small relocation payment for an earlier hand-back. This typically saves 3 to 6 months versus a contested court route, and is included in the standard cover.

Clear, fair guidance for tenants when things go wrong

Goodlord's process treats tenants in financial difficulty with structured, fair guidance — not an immediate possession threat. This preserves Kings Estates' reputation in the local market and produces better outcomes for everyone involved.

How it fits your plan

Included or add-on, depending on your service tier.

Rent Protection is included free on Platinum-tier landlords — no separate paperwork, no additional premium. Gold and Silver landlords can add it at the point of let; we’ll quote at the actual rent and risk profile rather than a flat industry rate.

Platinum · Fully Managed+

Included free

Rent protection is standard on Platinum-tier landlords as part of the 20.40% inc. VAT management fee. No additional premium, no claim-window paperwork to manage yourself — fully integrated with your management service.

Read about Platinum

Gold · Fully Managed

Available as add-on

Add Goodlord Rent Protection to your Gold management at 3.6% inc. VAT of monthly rent. Quoted at the point we let — premium reflects actual rent, void exposure and Goodlord's risk model rather than a flat industry rate.

Read about Gold

Silver · Let Only + Rent Collection

Available as add-on

Rent protection can be added to a Silver tenancy by request. We'll administer the policy and any claims as part of our rent-collection service — the underwriting requires a Kings Estates application reference.

Read about Silver

Frequently asked

Answers, in plain English.

What's the actual cost?

Quoted at the point of let, because the premium reflects monthly rent, property type, location, and any landlord-specific factors Goodlord underwrites against. For typical Tunbridge Wells stock, expect the all-in annual cost to land between 2.4% and 3.9% of annual rent inc. VAT. On a £2,000pcm property, that's roughly £575 to £935 per year — usually less than a single month of rent that you'd otherwise lose during a possession dispute.

Does this replace deposit protection?

No. Deposit protection (TDS, DPS, MyDeposits) is a statutory requirement and covers wear-and-tear / minor damage / end-of-tenancy disputes — up to the deposit cap of 5 weeks' rent. Rent protection covers the rent itself plus possession costs, and is a private insurance product layered on top. They're complementary, not alternatives.

When can I make a claim?

The standard claim window is 90 days — meaning a claim must be lodged within 90 days of the first missed rent payment. Goodlord's process notifies landlords automatically as the window approaches; on Platinum-managed properties Kings Estates files the claim on the landlord's behalf as part of the management service.

What if the tenant pays partial rent?

Partial payments are accepted by Goodlord. The cover bridges the shortfall — if your rent is £2,000 and the tenant pays £1,200, Goodlord pays you the remaining £800 for that month. The policy isn't all-or-nothing, which protects landlords against the most common arrears pattern (drip-fed underpayment rather than outright non-payment).

Can I add cover mid-tenancy?

Yes, with two caveats: (1) the tenant must be up-to-date on rent at the point of underwriting, and (2) Goodlord requires a 30-day waiting period before claims can be lodged. The waiting period prevents adverse-selection — applying for cover the day a tenant misses rent isn't valid. For Platinum-managed landlords, cover is in place from day one of the tenancy automatically.

Does Goodlord insure HMOs?

Yes — HMOs are covered under the standard product, subject to all relevant licensing being in place at the point of underwriting. We'll check your selective-licence position at the point of quoting; Tunbridge Wells doesn't currently operate a borough-wide selective licensing scheme but parts of Tonbridge and Sevenoaks do.

What happens if the tenant disputes a Section 13 rent rise?

Goodlord covers the disputed increase for up to 6 months while the matter resolves. So if you raise the rent from £1,800 to £1,950 (a £150 monthly increase), and the tenant refuses to pay the difference pending tribunal, Goodlord pays you the £150 differential each month for up to 6 months. This is unique to Goodlord — no other rent-protection product on the UK market has this cover currently.

Add Rent Protection to your let

A 30-minute call with one of our directors. No obligation, no script.

Mike Heath (MARLA · FNAEA) and Tom Snowdon run the landlord desk personally. They’ll review your portfolio, walk you through how Rent Protection sits alongside your management service, and quote at your actual rent and risk profile — not a flat industry rate.

Book a landlord valuation

Or call 01892 533367 directly. The Pantiles office is open 09:00–17:00 weekdays, 09:00–16:00 Saturdays.