Best Home Warranty for Rental Properties (2023 Guide)

Investing in real estate can be a great way to earn passive income over time. Still, whether it’s a career choice or a side hustle, managing a rental property requires careful planning in order to best accommodate your tenants and maximize your profit. A home warranty can provide rental property owners with a hands-off, low-cost solution for fixing major household appliances and systems as they inevitably break down.

Read on for more information on what a rental home warranty plan covers, where to find the best home warranty company for rental properties, and other practical ways to protect your real estate assets.

Top 5 Best Home Warranty Companies for Rental Properties

Our in-house team of home services experts researched 60+ top-rated home warranty companies across the U.S. and hand-picked the following five providers specifically for the clarity of their contract terms, customer service responsivity, and overall competitively low prices. 

1. Choice Home Warranty — Best For Rental Properties
2. Liberty Home Guard — Most trustworthy
3. Select Home Warranty — Most cost-effective plans
4. American Home Shield — Best customizable plans
5. The Home Service Club — Quickest service

Choice Home Warranty – Best Overall for Rental Property Coverage

Choice Home Warranty (CHW) offers the best overall coverage for rental properties. As one of the top providers in the industry, Choice currently protects over 1.6 million homes nationwide from expensive appliance and system breakdowns. CHW does a tremendous job of wrapping affordability, attention to detail, and simplicity into its rental home warranties.

Choice Home Warranty Rental Property Coverage

Choice Home Warranty covers short-term and long-term rental properties of all kinds, from single-family vacation homes to residential townhomes to luxury condos. 

No matter what type of rental property you own, you’re guaranteed prompt and professional repairs or replacements through Choice with a workmanship guarantee of 90 days on parts and 60 days on labor.

Plans and Pricing

• The Basic Plan ($45 per month / $560 per year): Covers 14 major systems and appliances, including heating systems, ductwork, electrical systems, ceiling fans, hot water heaters, and more.
• The Total Plan ($53.33 per month / $660 per year): Covers 18 items such as heating systems, air conditioning, ductwork, refrigerators, clothes washers/dryers, etc. 
• Optional Add-Ons ($40-$180 per year): Offers coverage for nine optional add-on items, including central vacuums, well and sump pumps, septic systems, septic tank pumping, stand-alone freezers, second refrigerators, limited roof leaks, and pool/spa. 
• Service Fee: $85 or the actual cost of the repair, whichever costs less.

Fill out this form or call 929-400-6164 to get a free quote from Choice Home Warranty.

Read our full Choice Home Warranty review for more.

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Liberty Home Guard – Most Trustworthy

Delayed updates and prolonged repair work can reflect poorly on you as a landlord once your tenant has notified you of an issue at the property. As the most trustworthy provider in the industry, Liberty Home Guard (LHG) prides itself on responsive and solutions-oriented customer service.

Even though LHG only has four years of industry experience, it currently stands as the only home warranty provider with an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Liberty Home Guard Rental Property Coverage

Liberty Home Guard offers exclusive savings opportunities for landlords with multiple rental properties. Each additional property you cover with an LHG home warranty will earn you additional discounts on your premium. Also, LHG will remind you that, as a landlord, the cost of your home warranty is tax deductible.

Standard coverage prices for a rental property home warranty start as low as $1 per day, and come with over 41 optional add-ons with specialty coverage options like carpet cleaning, pest control, re-keying, and more. New AHS policyholders will receive $200 off their premium plus free roof leak protection and two bonus months of coverage (for a limited time only) on their rental property.

Plans and Pricing

• Appliance Guard  ($70 per month / $700 per year): Covers 12 home appliances, including ceiling fans, cooktop exhausts, garbage disposals, dishwashers, clothes washers/dryers, garage door openers, built-in microwaves, ovens, refrigerators, and ice makers.
• Systems Guard ($74.99 per month / $750 per year): Covers six major home systems, including air conditioning, heating, ductwork, plumbing, electrical, and water heaters.
• Total Home Guard ($79.99 per month / $799.99 per year): Combo plan of the two above packages, covering a total of 20 appliances and home systems. 
• Optional Add-Ons ($49.99-$299.99 per year): Offers 41 additional items, including central vacuum, pest control, swamp coolers, generators, carpet cleaning, and much more.
• Service Fee: $75

To get a free quote from Liberty Home Guard, fill out this online form or call 866-451-2281.

Continue reading about LHG in our Liberty Home Guard review.

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Select Home Warranty – Most Cost-Effective

Select Home Warranty (SHW) is the most cost-effective option for rental property protection on the home warranty market. SHW keeps upfront costs low for rental homeowners with competitive rates and a generous assortment of discounts for new customers. 

Select Home Warranty Rental Property Coverage

When real estate investors and landlords first sign up with Select, they’ll receive $150 off their premium, free roof leak protection (a $99 value), and two complimentary months of coverage. SHW also only charges a $60 service call fee — one of the lowest deductibles industry-wide.

SHW also makes it free to transfer your policy between homeowners should you ever decide to put your rental property up for sale

Plans and Pricing

• The Bronze Care Plan ($44.42 per month / $479.99 per year): Covers a total of eight appliances, specifically refrigerators, built-in microwaves, cooktops, stoves/ovens/ranges, garbage disposals, dishwashers, clothes washers, and dryers.
• The Gold Care Plan ($44.42 per month / $479.99 per year): Covers six home systems, including heating systems, cooling systems, ductwork, electrical systems, plumbing systems, and water heaters.
• The Platinum Care Plan ($47.45 per month / $524.99 per year): Covers all the previously mentioned home systems and appliances plus ceiling fans, plumbing stoppages, and garage door openers.
• Optional Add-Ons ($39.99- $99.95 per year): Offers coverage for central vacuums, light fixtures/switches/outlets, second refrigerators, stand-alone freezers, built-in ice makers, sprinkler systems, well/sump pumps, septic systems, pools/spas, and roof leaks.

For a free quote from Select Home Warranty, fill out this online form or call 888-370-3953.

Read our full Select Home Warranty review for more details.

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American Home Shield – Most Customizable

American Home Shield (AHS) offers the most customizable rental home warranty plans in the industry. Founded in 1971, AHS has been in the home warranty business long enough to know that no two rental properties are created equal. For that reason, American Home Shield has a customizable service fee and three versatile rental home warranty plans for its policyholders to choose from based on their unique coverage priorities. 

American Home Shield Rental Property Coverage

Rental property coverage will include all that a regular home warranty does for a homeowner; it will cover appliances and systems regardless of age, make, or model. With AHS, landlords also get the benefit of coverage for undetected pre-existing conditions and damage caused by improper routine maintenance.

If your rental property is on the same site as your primary residence, you can use the Guest Unit add-on to cover the rental unit so long as it’s under 750 square feet. In other words, you’ll be able to stretch your protection across two properties while still only paying for one plan.

Plans and Pricing

• ShieldSilver ($29.27- $44.27 per month / $347.88 – $527.88 per year): Covers 19 systems, including HVAC, attic fans, bathroom exhaust fans, ceiling fans, whole-house fans, and electrical systems.
• ShieldGold ($39.27 – $54.27 per month / $467.88 – $647.88 per year): Covers 23 items, namely featuring kitchen and laundry appliances like ranges/cooktops, dishwashers, instant hot/cold water dispensers, clothes washers, and dryers, etc. 
• ShieldPlatinum ($59.27 – $74.27 per month / $711.88 – $891.88 per year): Combines 27 of the above appliances and systems plus automatic roof leak coverage. 
• Optional Add-Ons: Offers four riders for septic/well pumps, roof leak repairs, pools/spas, and coverage for guest units under 750 square feet in size.
• Service Fee: $75, $100, or $125.

For a free quote from American Home Shield, fill out this online form or call 888-365-2839.

To learn more about AHS, visit our American Home Shield review.

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The Home Service Club – Quickest Coverage

If you’re looking for rental home warranty coverage that kicks in sooner rather than later,  The Home Service Club (HSC) is the best provider for you. With a waiting period of only ten days — compared to the 30-day industry average — HSC offers the quickest rental property protection. The Home Service Club also guarantees a claim response within 24 hours, ensuring your tenants won’t have to wait on service for a broken system or appliance. 

Like American Home Shield, HSC also offers a customizable service fee of $60, $75, or $95. Selecting a higher service fee will result in a lower monthly or annual premium and vice versa.

The Home Service Club Rental Property Coverage

The Home Service Club guarantees a replacement if your rental property’s appliances or systems can’t be repaired. When purchasing a home warranty from HSC, landlords or real estate investors who opt to pay annually will receive a $125 discount and one month of free coverage.

HSC also offers real estate protection plans that can protect you as a homebuyer when acquiring a new rental property.

Plans and Pricing

• Standard Coverage Plan ($50 per month / $650 per year): Covers 18 systems and appliances, including air conditioning, heating systems, central vacuums, electrical systems, built-in food centers, refrigerators, freestanding ice-makers, etc. 
• Comprehensive Coverage Plan ($62.90 per month / $800 per year): Covers 33 systems and appliances plus ductwork, attic fans, ceiling fans, whole-house fans, pest control, smoke detectors, plumbing stoppages, and more. 
• Optional Add-Ons ($3.33 to $16.66 per month): Offers additional coverage for roof leaks, water/sewer/gas/power lines, sewage ejector pumps, well pumps, sprinkler irrigation systems, pools and spas, jetted bathtubs, water softener, dual-compressor refrigerators, and freestanding freezers.
• Service Fee: $60, $75, or $95 

To get a free quote from The Home Service Club, fill out this online form or call 800-842-9334.

Continue reading about HSC in our complete The Home Service Club review.

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Final Verdict: Is a Home Warranty for a Rental Property Worth It?

Being an owner of a rental property can be rather stressful. You’ll have to pay quite a bit of attention to the property to make sure that tenants keep it in good shape. And between property advertising, tenant screening, managing the lease, and more, eventual maintenance issues inside the property are just an added headache.

Having a home warranty for your rental property in your back pocket can ensure that appliance and system malfunctions will be resolved without draining you of time or money. When a tenant reports an issue to you, all you’ll have to do is notify your service provider with one phone call or online submission. The rest is off of your plate.

A rental home warranty is a key financial protection tool for successful real estate investors. Given that the average cost of an emergency home repair sits at around $1,400 per issue, a home warranty can pay for itself after just one appliance or system breakdown.

And remember that, as a landlord, your premium is tax-deductible. Your investment property’s inevitable maintenance needs are taken care of at little or no cost to you.

What is a Home Warranty for Rental Properties and How Does it Work?

A home warranty is a service contract that covers major appliances and built-in home systems as they break down due to normal wear and tear. Securing a home warranty for your rental property ensures that your investment is protected against expensive maintenance issues at all times. 

Because plenty of landlords live far away from their investment properties, it can be difficult to track down a reputable service technician in the area for a fair rate. Having a home warranty for their rental properties grants landlords access to prompt and affordable service professionals without needing to be present. Here’s a step-by-step for how this would work:

1. The tenant notifies you of a breakdown on a covered appliance or system.
2. You notify your service provider via the online claim portal or customer service assistance line.
3. Once processed, your provider with dispatch a technician to the rental property.
4. The technician will confirm that the issue falls within the coverage terms of your contract and you’ll pay the service fee designated in your contract.
5. Once your home warranty company approves the estimate provided by your technician, a final repair or replacement with take place.
   

Landlords and real estate investors have a unique advantage when it comes to financing premiums because rental home warranties are tax-deductible. So long as your rental property is not owner-occupied and generates steady cash flow, your home warranty premium can be written off as an operating expense.  

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Why Does a Rental Property Need a Home Warranty?

Any real estate investor or landlord seeking peace of mind when it comes to their rental properties will benefit greatly from a home warranty plan. Household maintenance issues are inevitable for all homeowners, but especially so for owners of older homes. Landlords leasing out an older property should always have home warranty coverage at the ready for when any original appliances or systems eventually succumb to their age. 

Home warranties are also a great tool for real estate investors who own multiple properties. Instead of juggling maintenance needs from all your current tenants at once, a home warranty can help you streamline your property management duties. With the right service contract in place, the renter, property manager, and landlord will be kept up-to-date on when to expect a fix for the issues at hand. 

Tenants can’t purchase a home warranty for the property they’re renting. Still, renters insurance is always an alternative option for anyone needing individual coverage for their belongings while leasing your home. 

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House Method Home Warranty Ranking Methodology

At House Method, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader. 

To create this rating system, our team spent hours researching over 60 companies, analyzing 2500+ key data points, getting the thoughts and opinions of 1000+ homeowners, and speaking to home warranty company representatives directly. We also dug into the fine print on each company’s service agreement to ensure no detail was left out.

We developed an objective home warranty review and rating methodology to score each home warranty company based on several criteria. We used a five-point scale with a point index ranging from 0.00 to 1.00. The minimum awardable value is 0.0, whereas 1.00 is the maximum. These numeric points are translated into star ratings, using whole star increments between one and five. 

Here is a quick breakdown of our five core scoring categories: 

• Coverage (0.4): This category evaluates the scope of protection offered by a home warranty provider. We clearly distinguished between limited or broad coverage to help homeowners identify their own home protection needs. We also factor in claim turnaround times, average waiting period lengths, plan types, annual coverage limits, policy exclusions, etc.
• Cost (0.3): This category considers what home warranty companies charge homeowners monthly, annual, and out-of-pocket. We urge homeowners also to consider the cost-to-value ratio of a home warranty plan.
• Transparency and Trustworthiness (0.15): This category evaluates home warranty providers based on pending or past legal action, hidden fees, lack of information readily available on the website, exclusions, and more. We consider how upfront a company is to its potential policyholders, which says a lot about its products and services.
• Customer Support and Satisfaction (.09): This category evaluates the efficacy of a home warranty company’s effort to provide supportive guidance to inquiring customers and how policyholders are satisfied with the assistance they receive. 
• Customization (.06): This category evaluates the ability of homeowners to adjust and choose their policy details, such as pricing variation, optional add-ons, and the number of plans available.

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