Ceta has launched new rent guarantee cover for landlords ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act, with 12 and 18-month policies designed around longer possession timelines and higher arrears risk from 1 May.
The broker has rolled out four products for intermediaries, each underwritten by Addept and including up to £50,000 of legal expenses cover. Premiums start at £110, with landlords able to choose either zero or two months of excess across both 12 and 18-month options.
Why longer cover matters once Section 21 goes
The launch is a direct response to the shift from Section 21 to court-based Section 8 possession. Ceta said median possession times have already reached 27 weeks, while landlords can face at least four months of lost rent before Section 8 proceedings begin. On that basis, the usual six-month rent guarantee policy looks thin.
That is the real point here. Insurers and brokers are adjusting to a world where landlords may have to carry arrears for longer before they regain possession. Ceta said claim durations could rise by 75 percent to 100 percent over the next few months, while legal expenses volumes may jump by 150 percent to 200 percent as more cases move through the courts.
James O’Hara, commercial director at Ceta, said standard six-month cover was no longer enough because longer arrear thresholds and court delays had changed the risk profile for landlords. Richard Finnan, managing director at Addept, said the new range was designed to protect against rent arrears and repossession costs as the Act disrupts the private rented sector.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on the Section 21 rush before 1 May, which showed landlords bringing possession decisions forward as the deadline approaches. The latest insurance launch points to the same conclusion from a different angle: firms that price landlord risk now expect slower, more expensive possession cases once the new regime starts.
Insurance market starts pricing in longer arrears cases
For landlords, the commercial signal matters as much as the product launch itself. If brokers are already stretching cover to 12 or 18 months, they are effectively saying possession risk is being re-rated before the law even starts. That does not mean every landlord needs a policy, but it does suggest unpaid rent cover is moving from optional extra to something more worth pricing up.
There is also a practical warning in the product structure. A policy can help with rent loss and legal costs, but it does not fix weak referencing, poor documentation or slow action when arrears begin. Landlords who assume insurance will paper over bad processes may still find themselves exposed if a claim turns on tenancy paperwork, notice errors or evidence gaps.
Ceta said 76 percent of landlords are more likely to seek protection because of the legislative changes. That looks plausible given the direction of travel. The harder question is whether premiums stay attractive if possession delays keep worsening through the second half of the year.
What this means for landlords
- If you rely on rent to cover the mortgage: check whether existing rent guarantee cover lasts long enough for a post-1 May possession case.
- Watch for: policy exclusions around tenant referencing, arrears thresholds and legal expenses limits before assuming you are covered.
- Bottom line: insurers are already treating Section 8 delays as a bigger landlord risk, so landlords should review both cover and arrears processes now.
Editor’s view
This is a useful product launch, but the bigger story is what sits behind it. When insurers start building 12 and 18-month rent guarantee terms around possession delays, landlords should take that as a hard market signal that the post-Section 21 system is expected to be slower and costlier than many still hope.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 22 April 2026
Sources: Mortgage Solutions, Ministry of Justice possession statistics
Related reading: Section 21 rush sends landlord possession instructions up 60%
