Renting from a relative is common and it is still a tenancy. The informality tends to mean no lease, no deposit and no policy, which is fine until something burns.
An informal arrangement does not change who owns what. Your belongings are still yours to insure.
Three things about renting from someone you know.
Whether the owner is a stranger or your uncle, their policy covers their building. Your furniture, clothing and electronics are yours and are not insured by it. The relationship changes the conversation and not the contract.
If you cause a loss, the owner’s insurer pays the owner and may seek recovery from you, and it does so without regard to the family relationship. That is an uncomfortable scenario and it is exactly what the liability section of a renters policy prevents from becoming personal.
A relative renting to family frequently keeps a homeowners policy on a house they no longer occupy, which can fail at a claim. Raising it is awkward and it protects both of you, because an uninsured building helps nobody in the family.
Making a family arrangement sound.
That is what your policy covers, whoever owns the walls.
It is what stops a fire becoming a family dispute.
Worth raising, gently, because it protects you both.
Tell us what you own in the home and whether there is any written agreement.
