If you’re a landlord, having a home warranty could help you save on costly repairs and replacements without disrupting your rental business. Our team evaluated the leading home warranty companies to find the best options for landlords. We’ve selected the best home warranty companies for rental properties to help your investment stay protected.
Top 5 Home Warranty Companies for Rental Properties
We reviewed dozens of home warranty companies to find the best fit for rental properties. Here are our top choices:
- American Home Shield: Best for Comprehensive Coverage
- Liberty Home Guard: Best Customer Ratings
- Select Home Warranty: Best Value
- First American Home Warranty: Best Appliance Coverage
- America’s First Choice Home Club: Best for Customization
American Home Shield
American Home Shield (AHS) provides comprehensive protection for major home systems and appliances and offers unmatched coverage caps per covered item. It even allows you to customize your service fee, offering monthly premium cost customization. AHS offers coverage in every state except Alaska and Hawaii.
American Home Shield Rental Property Benefits
AHS covers types of damage that many other companies won’t. In addition to covering wear and tear, American Home Shield covers damage from rust, corrosion, sediment, and more. Additionally, if your rental is a guest unit on your residential property of less than 750 square feet, you can add it to your existing home warranty for an extra fee. It provides a $5,000 coverage limit per covered system, plus a $2,000–$4,000 limit for appliances.
American Home Shield Plans and Prices
AHS offers its ShieldSilver, ShieldGold, and ShieldPlatinum plans. You can choose a $100 or $125 service call fee with these plans. The higher your service fee, the lower your monthly premium. Here are some sample prices from plans with a $75 service fee:
- ShieldSilver: $39.99 per month
- ShieldGold: $59.99 per month
- ShieldPlatinum: $89.99 per month
For a free quote from American Home Shield, call 844-529-9298 or fill out this easy form.
Learn more: American Home Shield Review
Liberty Home Guard
Liberty Home Guard (LHG) distinguishes itself with its high Better Business Bureau, Trustpilot, and Google Reviews ratings, plus an extensive list of add-on coverage options. In addition, LHG provides solid major systems and appliance coverage. Each plan includes a 60-day workmanship guarantee.
Liberty Home Guard Rental Property Benefits
Liberty Home Guard offers over 30 unique add-on selections for a fully customizable plan. Its 60-day workmanship guarantee offers twice the coverage of the industry standard 30-day option. The company covers second air conditioning and heating systems within its standard plans, perfect for large properties with multiple heating and cooling units.
Liberty Home Guard Plans and Prices
Liberty Home Guard’s plans are broken down into system-only, appliance-only, and combined coverage options. Service call fees range between $65–$125. When we spoke with a Liberty Home Guard representative, she explained that your home’s type, size, location, warranty plan and add-on selections impact that fee. Below are sample prices for Liberty Home Guard plans:
- Appliance Guard: $49.99 per month
- System Guard: $54.99 per month
- Total Guard: $59.99 per month
Fill out this form or call 866-452-9107 to speak to a Liberty Home Guard representative about a home warranty plan in your area.
Learn more: Liberty Home Guard Review
Select Home Warranty
Select Home Warranty offers comprehensive coverage for rental properties with premium pricing at less than $50 per month. The company includes free roof-leak protection for up to $400 annually. No other provider in this review includes roof-leak coverage in all its standard plans.
Select Home Warranty Rental Property Benefits
Select offers affordable coverage for major home systems and appliances. HVAC systems, in particular, receive a generous $3,000 coverage cap. Its $75 service call fee is one of the industry’s lowest, making it a solid choice for landlords with limited cash reserves.
Select Home Warranty Plans and Prices
Select Home Warranty offers three plan options: Bronze Care, Gold Care, and Platinum Care. Bronze Care covers appliances, and Gold Care covers systems. Platinum Care combines the two basic plan options into one comprehensive package.
- Bronze Care: $44.42 per month
- Gold Care: $44.42 per month
- Platinum Care: $47.75 per month
To request a custom quote, call 888-370-3956 or use Select Home Warranty’s simple form.
Learn more: Select Home Warranty Review
First American Home Warranty
First American Home Warranty includes coverage for working systems and appliances regardless of age, making it a solid choice if your rental has older home items. The company also has unlimited HVAC coverage limits, which tends to be one of the most expensive repairs.
First American Home Warranty Rental Property Benefits
First American bundles its First American Advantage upgrade within two of its standard plans. This add-on covers improperly installed systems or appliances and other maintenance-related costs such as permits and refrigerant recapture and disposal. This coverage is useful for rentals mistreated by past tenants or rentals you’re renovating. The company offers a generous $3,500 coverage limit for appliances in its Starter and Essential plans, plus an unlimited coverage limit for heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing systems. First American increases its appliance limit to $7,000 in its Premium Plan.
First American Home Warranty Plans and Prices
First American offers the Starter Plan, Essential Plan, and Premium Plan. The Starter and Essential plans cover appliances and systems, and the Premium Plan adds coverage for luxury appliances, shower heads, and more. The company also offers three service call fees, which are $75, $100, and $125. Here are some sample rates we pulled for First American coverage paired with a $75 service call fee:
- Starter Plan: $57 per month
- Essential Plan: $67 per month
- Premium Plan: $87 per month
To learn how much a plan costs in your area, call First American Home Warranty at 800-891-9778 or fill out First American’s quick form.
Learn more: First American Home Warranty Review
America’s First Choice Home Club
America’s First Choice Home Club (AFC Home Club) offers excellent plan flexibility with four coverage plans and three service call fees. It also offers budget-friendly appliance-only and systems-only plans for landlords needing basic coverage. As a bonus, AFC Home Club includes security perks, such as identity protection and free credit monitoring. AFC Home Club’s extensive workmanship guarantee, plan flexibility, and additional perks make it a provider worth considering.
AFC Home Club Rental Property Benefits
AFC Home Club provides generous coverage caps, including a $3,000 coverage cap per covered appliance and an unlimited coverage cap per heating and cooling system. Other home systems, such as ductwork, plumbing, interior electrical, and water heaters, receive a much lower coverage cap. Depending on your plan length, its workmanship guarantee can extend up to three years.
AFC Home Club Plans and Prices
AFC Home Club provides four coverage plans: the Silver Plan, Systems Plan, Gold Plan, and Platinum Plan. The Silver and Systems plans cover major appliances and systems, respectively. The Gold Plan combines home system and appliance coverage. The Platinum Plan covers everything in the Gold Plan plus a mix of systems and appliances, including built-in microwaves and plumbing stoppages.
AFC Home Club offers three service call fees ranging from $75, $100 and $125. You can lower your monthly premium by selecting a higher service call fee. The below sample rates are based on a plan with a $75 service call fee:
- Silver Plan: $41.83
- Systems Plan: $48.92
- Gold Plan: $56.00
- Platinum Plan: $60.67
Fill out AFC Home Club’s quote form or call 877-755-1115 to request your customized quote.
Learn more: AFC Home Club Review
Why a Rental Property Needs a Home Warranty
A home warranty covers systems and appliances that break down from normal wear and tear. Most providers don’t put an age limit on the systems or appliances they cover, making home warranties perfect for older rental units.
If you have a home warranty and a covered item breaks, your provider sends a technician to diagnose and repair the problem. You only pay the service fee rather than the full cost for repair or replacement. Your home warranty provider will also handle many repair logistics for you. Companies send a licensed, trusted contractor and may schedule an appointment directly with the tenant.
Also, a home warranty’s cost is tax deductible as a business operating expense. Ultimately, a home warranty makes your life easier, especially if you’re balancing your home’s cost and several rental properties simultaneously.
Annual Home Warranty Cost Calculator
Our team created a calculator to break down the estimated annual cost of owning a home warranty. Enter your monthly premium, service call fee, and estimated number of claims to see your projected annual cost. It’s best to request a quote directly from one of our recommended providers, as annual costs and service fees vary between them.
| Appliance | Average Repair Cost | Average Replacement Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Dehumidifier | $50–$200 | $1,300–$2,800 |
| Microwave | $50–$400 | $60–$2,000 |
| Dishwasher | $50–$500 | $400–$3,000 |
| Exhaust Fans | $16–$300 | $250–$950 |
| Electric Range | $100–$500 | $230–$3,000 |
| Gas Range | $100–$500 | $230–$3,000 |
| Dryer | $100–$400 | $450–$2,300 |
| Oven | $100–$430 | $400–$3,000 |
| Washer | $50–$450 | $400–$2,300 |
| Freezer | $90–$500 | $160–$2,900 |
| Refrigerator | $40–$350 | $200–$5,000 |
Note: The annual cost figure generated by our home warranty calculator is not an indication of a company’s actual plan cost, as annual costs and service fees vary based on your plan selections and your home’s size, type, and location.
Our Conclusion
We named American Home Shield our top rental coverage provider due to its unique rust, sediment, and corrosion damage coverage and generous coverage caps. If you need more options for add-on coverage, consider Liberty Home Guard as your provider. For low-cost premiums and free roof-leak coverage, we recommend Select Home Warranty.
We recommend getting custom quotes from several providers and reading their sample contracts before making a final purchase decision.
FAQ About Rental Property Home Warranties
Our Rating Methodology
We back up our home warranty ratings and recommendations with a detailed rating methodology to score each provider objectively. We conduct research by speaking with company representatives, requesting quotes, analyzing sample contracts, and conducting focus groups and consumer surveys.
We score each provider against our review standards, which include four comparison categories: coverage, value, trust and transparency, and availability and service. We rate each provider across 31 factors within these categories. Each factor is assigned a point value based on its importance to a homeowner, totaling 100 points. We then convert the final scores to a 5-star rating.
Here’s a breakdown of our weighted factors:
- Coverage (40%): We scored coverage based on included home systems and appliances, add-on options, and unique benefits. We also compared coverage caps and policy exclusions.
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- Additional coverage items
- Annual coverage cap
- Home systems coverage
- Major appliances coverage
- Obstructed wall coverage cap
- Value (30%): We compared the coverage level received to monthly pricing to determine plan value. We considered premium pricing, service fees, and flexibility in customizing plan costs.
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- Average monthly cost
- Cost flexibility
- Lowest service fee
- Trust and Transparency (16%): We evaluated each company’s reputation using the Better Business Bureau ratings and customer reviews on third-party review sites. We read through plan change policies, workmanship protections, and sample contract availability.
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- Brand reputation
- Policy change flexibility
- Sample contract availability
- Workmanship guarantee length
- Availability and Service (14%): We award higher scores for faster claim processing and response times. We also considered service technician policies, including options to choose your technician.
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- Claims process
- Guaranteed response time
- Service flexibility
To share feedback or ask a question about this article, send a note to our Reviews Team at reviews@thisoldhousereviews.com.