Landlord Insurance vs Homeowners Insurance

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor

Short answer: the deciding factor is who lives in the home. If you live there, a homeowners policy fits. If tenants live there, you generally need landlord insurance. The Insurance Information Institute says in its guide to coverage for renting out your home that a home leased for a longer period, such as six months or a year, will likely need a landlord or rental dwelling policy, and that the first step before renting is to call your insurance agent.

That call is one we take often. Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is a family-owned independent agency that has insured New England homes and rentals since 2005, with access to 40+ carriers that write both homeowners and landlord forms. Plenty of our 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials come from first-time landlords who wanted the switch done right.

Landlord vs. homeowners insurance, side by side

Coverage area	Homeowners policy	Landlord (rental dwelling) policy
Who lives there	You and your family	Tenants
Dwelling	Covered	Covered
Other structures	Covered	Usually covered or available
Your personal property	Broad coverage for your belongings	Only items you keep there for the rental, such as appliances or a snow blower
Tenant’s belongings	Not applicable	Not covered; tenants need renters insurance
Loss of use	Your extra living costs after a loss	Usually replaced by loss of rental income
Liability	Personal liability for you and your family	Liability for injuries tied to the rental property
Covered causes	Often broad, open-perils forms	Ranges from named perils (basic) to broader forms
Typical forms	HO-3, HO-5	DP-1, DP-2, DP-3

Triple-I describes landlord policies as covering physical damage to the structure from fire, lightning, wind, hail, ice, snow and other covered perils, along with property you leave for maintenance or tenant use, liability if a tenant or guest is hurt, and usually lost rental income for a set period while the home is repaired. Our dwelling fire vs. homeowners insurance guide covers the DP forms in detail.

Why the homeowners policy stops fitting once tenants move in

A homeowners policy is underwritten on the assumption that the named insured lives there. When a tenant moves in, the risk changes: someone else controls daily maintenance, guests come and go, and the owner may not notice a slow leak for weeks. Homeowners forms also define the “residence premises” around where you live, so a house you’ve moved out of can fall outside that definition.

The result is that a claim on a rented house insured under a homeowners policy can be disputed or denied, and the carrier may cancel or non-renew once it learns about the change in use. Texas’s home insurance guide notes, for example, that a company may cancel early in a policy if it learns of a risk you didn’t disclose. Tell your agent before the lease starts.

Do you need both homeowners and landlord insurance?

Often, yes. Each property needs the policy that matches its use:

• You live in one house and rent another: homeowners on your residence, landlord coverage on the rental.
• You moved and rent out your old home: switch the old home to a landlord policy and insure your new place with homeowners or renters coverage.
• You live in one unit of a two- to four-family building: many carriers write the whole owner-occupied building on a homeowners form with coverage for the rented units; others use a dwelling form. Ask which applies.
• You rent a room in the house you live in: usually stays on homeowners, but tell the carrier; some require an endorsement or limit coverage.
• You rent a second home seasonally: it depends on how often it’s rented; see the short-term section below.

Lenders matter here too. The CFPB explains that mortgage lenders generally require insurance on the property securing the loan, and a lender may treat the wrong form as a lapse in required coverage. Check that your mortgagee is listed correctly on the new policy.

Short-term rentals and home sharing

Short-term rentals sit in between. Triple-I explains that some insurers allow an occasional short-term rental if you notify them, while others require an endorsement. Renting regularly to a stream of guests can be treated as a business, which a standard homeowners policy doesn’t cover. The Texas Department of Insurance’s home-sharing tip adds that landlord insurance is mainly for traditional long-term leases and may not suit short-term rentals, and that some home-sharing platforms offer coverage you can buy.

For Seacoast owners, our short-term rental insurance in Hampton page explains the options for beach rentals, and our secondary and seasonal home insurance page covers homes you use part of the year.

Which policy fits your situation

Situation	Policy that usually fits	Watch for
You live in the house full time	Homeowners	Home business or room rentals
Single-family house leased for a year	Landlord (DP-3 or similar)	Lost rental income limit
Two-family where you live in one unit	Homeowners or dwelling form, by carrier	Liability for the tenant’s guests
Non-owner-occupied triple-decker	Landlord policy	Building code upgrades after a loss
Condo unit rented to a tenant	Unit-owner rental form (HO-6 with rental endorsement)	Master policy and bylaws
Vacation home rented a few weeks a year	Seasonal homeowners with rental endorsement	How many weeks the carrier allows
House rented nightly through a platform	Short-term rental coverage	Platform coverage gaps
House between tenants for months	Landlord policy with vacancy terms	Vacancy limits on water and vandalism
Adult child living in your second house without paying rent	Depends on carrier; disclose it	Whether it counts as owner-occupied

Switching a house from homeowners to landlord coverage: a checklist

• Call your agent before the lease is signed, not after the tenant moves in.
• Set the start date of the landlord policy to the day the house stops being your residence, so there’s no gap.
• Choose a form: a broader DP-3 for most single-family rentals, or a named-perils form if the carrier or the house calls for it.
• Pick a lost rental income limit that covers the months a major repair could take.
• Raise the liability limit if the rental has stairs, a pool, a dock or heavy foot traffic, and consider an umbrella that lists the rental.
• Update the mortgagee and send the new declarations page to your lender.
• Insure your new home, whether you buy or rent, with its own policy.

Doing these in order keeps both properties insured on the right form from day one. If you’re also changing carriers, our explainer on reading your new declarations page shows what to double-check.

Is landlord insurance more expensive than homeowners insurance?

Usually a landlord policy costs more for the same house, because a rented home has a different risk profile and the policy adds lost rental income protection. But the comparison isn’t really either-or: if tenants live there, the homeowners policy isn’t a valid choice. What you can control is the form (a named-perils DP-1 versus a broader DP-3), the deductible, the rental income limit and the liability limit. An independent agent can compare those across carriers.

What landlords should require from tenants

• Renters insurance: Triple-I notes many landlords require it before signing a lease, since the landlord’s policy doesn’t cover tenant possessions. See Triple-I’s renters insurance overview.
• Liability on the renters policy: it protects the tenant if they cause a fire or injure a guest.
• Proof each year: ask for the declarations page at each renewal.
• Pets and extras: address dogs, pools, trampolines and wood stoves in the lease and with your carrier.

Our guide to homeowners vs. renters insurance explains the tenant side.

Landlord insurance in New England

• Multi-family buildings. Two-families and triple-deckers are common in Portsmouth, Dover, Manchester, Lowell and Portland. Ordinance or law coverage matters when an older building must be brought to code.
• Heating and frozen pipes. Tenants may control the thermostat but not the pipes. Leak sensors and low-temperature alerts help, especially when a unit is empty.
• Oil tanks and chimneys. Older rentals may have oil heat, wood stoves or aging chimneys that carriers ask about.
• Seasonal beach and lake rentals. Summer-only rentals on the Seacoast or in the Lakes Region usually need short-term rental coverage or an endorsement rather than a standard landlord form.
• Lead paint. Many older New England rentals were built before 1978. Ask your agent how your policy treats lead exposure claims.

For state pages, see landlord insurance in Portsmouth, Maine landlord insurance and Massachusetts landlord insurance, plus our New Hampshire landlord maintenance tips.

If a property’s use is about to change, a quick call now beats a claim dispute later.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between landlord insurance and homeowners insurance?

Homeowners insurance covers a home you live in, your belongings and your personal liability. Landlord insurance covers a home rented to tenants, your liability as the property’s landlord and usually lost rental income.

Does homeowners insurance cover a rental property?

Usually not once tenants live there full time. A long-term rental generally needs a landlord or rental dwelling policy; tell your carrier before the lease begins.

Do I need both homeowners and landlord insurance?

If you live in one home and rent another, yes. Each property needs the policy that matches how it’s used.

Does landlord insurance cover my tenant’s belongings?

No. It covers the building and items you provide. Tenants need renters insurance for their own things and liability.

Is landlord insurance more expensive than homeowners?

Usually it costs more for the same house because the risk differs and it adds rental income protection. If tenants live there, a homeowners policy usually isn’t the right form anyway.

What about short-term rentals?

Some carriers allow occasional rentals with notice or an endorsement. Frequent short-term rentals usually need dedicated coverage. Call (603) 431-4020 to talk it through.

Related reading

• Mortgage Insurance vs. Homeowners Insurance
• Landlord Insurance: What It Covers on a Rental
• Vacant & Unoccupied Home Insurance in New Hampshire
• 7 Ways to Lower Your Home Insurance Premium in NH & CT
• Editorial & Accuracy Policy
• Landlord Insurance New Hampshire & CT
• Homeowners Insurance NH & CT
• Renters Insurance Portsmouth NH
• Specialty Dwelling Insurance

Sources

• Insurance Information Institute: Coverage for renting out your home
• Texas Department of Insurance: Renting out your home? Check your insurance
• Texas Department of Insurance: Home insurance guide
• Insurance Information Institute: Renters insurance
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What is homeowners insurance and why is it required?

Switching a home to rental use? Our policy change request form starts it, and we’ll follow up.

This guide is general information. Landlord, homeowners and rental endorsements differ by carrier and state, and the policy controls. It is not legal or tax advice and does not promise coverage.