Hi,

Many LL here suggested that all renters should have renter insurance which I agree. We could require them to purchase it before giving them keys. Ok that covers that first year. What happen if they decide to skip or not renew it when next year come? Are we willing to kick them out and go through all the headache of repairing, marketing, and finding a new tenant (and risking that the new one might not be as good as the last one)? Please share your experience on how you deal with tenants who skip renter insurance *after* moving in. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your reply

RB[TN], do you require your tenants to carry a renter insurance?

If you are listed as interested party you will receive notifications from the company when the tenant lets the policy lapse. This can be a pita to get the tenant to follow up and keep it active. I have one that does this, but I don't let them off the hook. My lease says I can charge 25 for every month they do not carry renters insurance. I have not had to bill that.

I am seeing the benefits of requiring renter's insurance. I am sure that it will be something that I mandate in the near future.

A tenant informed me that the renters insurance is about $100 through her car insurance company, very minimal.

In California, a landlord is NOT allowed to insure tenants possessions. Then if a landlord has a tenant with valuables, they could set fire to their building and then collect on tenants losses.

But a landlord is allowed to purchase liability insurance in their tenants name, and make the landlord receiver of any insurance premiums.

I had a tenant that listed that they only had "cars". Then a dependent son of my tenant from a previous marriage moved in. This is allowed by Los Angeles codes. I could not do anything.

The son belonged to a motor cycle club and parked motor cycles on the rental property, in the garage and on the lawn.

The son would drink everyday and sit on a bike and rev it's engine which caused all of the neighbors to complain to me, not the motorcycle kid or his parents.

I had a clause in all of my leases that I would purchase a Tenant Liability Policy, naming me as beneficiary. But the tenant, for an extra premium, could purchase insurance to cover their contents, making them receive of any claim.

So my annual $100,000 tenant liability policy, only payable to me, cost me $220 per year. And if the tenant wanted to cover their contents, for a total value of $25,000, their extra premium was $160 per year, payable monthly.

My tenants motor cycle son took a chick, put her on his hog parked in the garage and ran the engine. With no windows open, they passed out. Saved by another neighbor and in the hospital for several days. They filed a lawsuit against me.

I require Renter‘s insurance and it usually coincides with lease renewal so I get an updated copy of their policy statement at that time. I require my company to be listed as additional insured . Joel Miller doesn’t agree with that. And I’ll let him chime in with his why. Around here it is $125 a year. You can go online and get it in 15 minutes from assurance.

We include a WHY BUY RENTER'S INSURANCE flyer in our lease and every renewal. We just started that in 2025! And suddenly, people are buying renter's insurance. Will they keep it? Don't know. But they have all the facts of why they want it and what it covers, etc.

Here in VA we are allowed to purchase & pay for the tenant's renter's insurance & bill them for it - to be paid along with and in addition to the rent.

Like Ray, LL can get the forms, but tenant does need to sign it.

This is my post on the same subject from a few days ago...

You asked if you should evict if they don't renew their renters insurance. A violation of the lease is a violation of the lease! Maintaining renters insurance is SO IMPORTANT that it is a primary cause for eviction.

Tenants are given a notice even if they let it expire during the lease term. Of course, since we are given notice of the insurance company's threat of cancellation because we are an additional interest onthe policy, we are on the phone with the tenant if we get a letter from the insurance company. And we are renlentless in checking up to see if a payment gets made to keep it out of cancellation. If it gets close to when the payment must be made to keep it from cancelling, I play the lease violation card.

Don't be timid about this. All it takes is ONE situation where the tenant's negligence causes you to have a claim on YOUR policy (when it could have been on the tenant's policy) and you will become a believer. Especially after you had to eat the deductible which the tenant cannot afford to reimburse you for. --184.56.xx.xxx