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Multi Dwelling Insurance Cost

Real premiums from recent Tank placements across unit blocks, blocks of flats and walk-up flats, and the six factors that move the number for your property.

~$1.5-7.5K

Typical 2-6 Unit Blocks

8

Real Placements Shown

6

Premium Factors

~$26.1K

18-Dwelling Placement

Recognition

Industry Awards

THE SHORT ANSWER

Most 2-6 unit blocks Tank has placed recently have landed between approximately $1,500 and $7,500 a year. Larger holdings are priced case by case; an 18-dwelling block came in at approximately $26,100.

The premium for any given block comes down to the number of dwellings, the building sum insured, the build era and any rewiring, the location, the claims history and the loss of rent limits. The table below shows real recent placements so you can benchmark your own property.

REAL PLACEMENTS

What Multi Dwelling Blocks Actually Cost to Insure

These are recent Tank placements, anonymised, with premiums rounded and shown as approximate annual figures. BSI = building sum insured. Your property will be rated on its own details.

Block Location Annual premium
4 units, 1940s build, BSI $2M Sydney approximately $4,600
4 units on one title, BSI $1.4M Regional VIC approximately $2,800
4 units, BSI approximately $1.65M Sydney approximately $5,100
3 high-value units, BSI $2.86M plus contents Sydney approximately $7,100
4 units, 1930s build, BSI $1.38M Regional QLD approximately $7,500
5 units, BSI $1M Regional NSW approximately $4,400
6 walk-up flats, 1950s build, BSI $1.65M Brisbane approximately $5,900
18 dwellings (units plus townhouses), BSI $8M Sydney approximately $26,100

Two more data points worth noting: a walk-up block in suburban Melbourne placed at approximately $2,800 a year, and recent multi-dwelling placements have gone to markets including CGU, CHU and Sure Insurance. Read the spread in the table before assuming your renewal is the market rate; two 4-unit Sydney blocks can land $500 apart, and a 1930s regional block can out-price both.

WORKED EXAMPLE

A New Duplex, Settled Before Its Strata Plan Existed

A newly completed duplex on the NSW coast needed insurance immediately so bank settlement could proceed. The complication: the strata plan was still being created. That put the property in a transitional category, finished as a building but not yet registered as a strata scheme, so a strata policy didn't exist to buy and a single-dwelling landlord policy didn't describe the risk either.

Tank tested four markets. One declined, and three quoted between approximately $3,100 and $4,800 a year, a spread of more than 50% on the identical risk. The policy was placed with Flex at approximately $3,300 a year, with the strata-plan number recorded as to be advised until registration came through.

The pricing lesson: the submission has to describe the current legal structure, not the intended one. Present a pre-registration duplex as a strata risk and you'll get quotes for a property that doesn't legally exist yet; describe it as it stands on the start date and the insurers that write transitional risks can price it properly, and the quote spread shows how differently insurers can price the same transitional risk.

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PRICING FACTORS

What Moves a Multi Dwelling Premium

Six factors explain most of the spread in the table above. Here's what underwriters are weighing when they price a block.

01

Number of Dwellings

More dwellings means more rebuild value, more rental income to cover and more tenancies generating claims exposure. A duplex and a 12-unit block are priced very differently even in the same suburb.

02

Build Era and Rewiring

Older blocks attract closer underwriting. Original wiring, plumbing or roofing can add loadings or conditions; documented upgrades pull the premium the other way. Compare the 1930s regional QLD block against the newer builds in the table above.

03

Building Sum Insured

The single biggest lever. Premium scales with the declared rebuild cost of the whole holding, including demolition, debris removal and professional fees. Understating it saves premium and undermines every future claim.

04

Location

Postcode drives the natural-hazard rating: flood, bushfire, cyclone and storm exposure, plus crime rates for theft and malicious damage. Regional and northern locations can rate very differently to metro Sydney or Melbourne.

05

Claims History

A clean history helps the placement; recent claims get priced in. Be upfront about past losses and what's been fixed since, because a well-explained claim reads far better to an underwriter than a discovered one.

06

Loss of Rent Limits

The loss of rent limit should cover the block's combined rent for a realistic rebuild period, often 12 to 24 months on a larger holding. Higher limits cost more, but an inadequate limit leaves you carrying the shortfall after a major loss.

The practical point: the cheapest premium isn't the goal; the right sum insured and loss of rent limit at a fair premium is. If your block sits on one title with no strata scheme, start with our multi dwelling insurance guide, or go deeper on block of units insurance and non-strata insurance for how the cover is structured.

COST FAQS

Common Questions About Multi Dwelling Insurance Cost

Most 2-6 unit blocks Tank has placed recently have landed between approximately $1,500 and $7,500 a year. Larger holdings are priced case by case; an 18-dwelling block came in at approximately $26,100. The exact figure depends on the number of dwellings, building sum insured, build era, location, claims history and loss of rent limits.
Recent Tank placements for 4-unit blocks have ranged from approximately $2,800 a year for a regional Victorian block with a $1.4 million sum insured, up to approximately $7,500 for a 1930s block in regional Queensland. Sydney 4-unit blocks in that set placed at approximately $4,600 and $5,100. Build era, location and sum insured explain most of the spread.
Two recent Tank data points: a 6-flat 1950s walk-up in Brisbane with a $1.65 million sum insured placed at approximately $5,900 a year, and a walk-up block in suburban Melbourne placed at approximately $2,800 a year. Walk-ups rate on the same factors as any multi dwelling risk, with build era and the condition of stairwells and common areas getting extra attention.
Usually one or more of: an older building with original wiring or plumbing, a high natural-hazard postcode, recent claims, or a sum insured that's been corrected upward after years of creeping underinsurance. It can also simply be the wrong insurer for the risk. If the renewal number has jumped, it's worth having a broker test the market rather than accepting it; different insurers have genuinely different appetite for older multi-unit residential blocks.
It's not a like-for-like comparison, because separate single-dwelling landlord policies generally aren't available for multiple dwellings on one title; the property needs to be insured as one holding. One properly structured policy also removes the gaps you'd get stitching products together: one sum insured, one loss of rent limit and one liability limit covering the shared areas.
Yes. Between completion and strata registration, the property sits in a transitional category: it's a finished building, but there's no strata scheme yet, so there's no strata policy to buy and a single-dwelling landlord policy doesn't describe it. The submission needs to explain the current legal structure, not the intended one, and the strata-plan number can be recorded as to be advised until registration comes through. Tank recently placed exactly this risk for a newly completed coastal NSW duplex that needed cover in place for bank settlement; the worked example above shows the quotes it drew.
Have the basics ready: number of dwellings, address, approximate build year, any rewiring or re-plumbing work, an honest rebuild estimate for the whole block, combined weekly rent, and your claims history. Accuracy here isn't box-ticking: when the rent figures, construction details, unit mix and rebuild estimate are evidenced up front, an insurer with appetite can quote the same day, which matters when cover has to be in place for a settlement. With that, a broker can approach the insurers that write multi dwelling risk and come back with real terms. Send it through our quote form or call and we'll do the rest.

RELATED COVER & GUIDES

More on Multi Dwelling Property

Multi Dwelling Insurance (hub) →
Block of Units Insurance →
Non-Strata Insurance →
Mixed Use Property Insurance →
Landlords Insurance Brokers →

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Real terms for your unit block, flats or townhouse row, benchmarked against placements like the ones above.

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Last updated: 19/07/2026

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