Landlord Insurance in Portsmouth, NH

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Landlord · Dwelling · Umbrella · Flood · Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city of renters as much as owners. Your rental might be a condo you moved out of, an accessory apartment, a two-family where you live downstairs, or several buildings. The right policy depends on how the property is used, and this page walks through the choices.

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is an independent agency, founded in 2005 and licensed in 10 states, with our office at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, in Portsmouth. We compare 40+ carriers. We are New Hampshire’s highest-rated agency on Google, with 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials. Call (603) 431-4020, or see our Portsmouth insurance agency page for everything else we do in the city.

Portsmouth’s rental market at a glance

The city’s 2022 housing market study found Portsmouth almost evenly split between owners and renters: 49.7% of occupied units were renter-occupied, against 22.2% in Rockingham County. The study also found that 70% of all rental units are in structures built before 1980, and that 46% of renter-occupied units are in buildings from 1959 or earlier.

So underwriters reviewing a Portsmouth rental want to know the age of the wiring, plumbing, heating and roof, and documented updates open up more carriers.

City rules that touch your landlord policy

Certificate of Occupancy for rental units

Portsmouth’s Housing Code (Chapter 14) says anyone renting out a residential unit must first get a Certificate of Occupancy from the Housing Code Inspector and post it in the unit. The code says the certificate is valid for three years unless the unit becomes vacant, in which case it expires and a new one is needed before the unit is rented again, although no new certificate is required within a 12-month period. Check the current rules and process with the city before you rent.

Smoke detectors

The same code requires an automatic smoke detector in every dwelling unit and every common hallway, except in single-family homes. The property owner maintains the detectors, and tenants replace batteries in battery-operated detectors in their own units. Carriers ask about detectors on rentals, so keep a record of what is installed and tested.

Accessory dwelling units

The city’s zoning ordinance allows one accessory dwelling unit, attached or detached, on a lot with a single-family home, and requires that the owner live in either the main house or the ADU as a principal residence, with a certificate of use renewed every year. If you rent out an ADU, tell us. Many carriers will keep the property on a homeowners policy with the rental disclosed, but it has to be on the application.

Short-term rentals

Portsmouth’s zoning ordinance defines a dwelling unit to exclude transient occupancies such as hotels, motels and rooming or boarding houses. In Working Stiff Partners v. City of Portsmouth (2019), the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the city’s position that daily Airbnb-style rentals of a house were not a permitted principal use in the General Residence A district. Check the zoning before you list a property, and tell us first: a landlord policy written for annual leases is not built for nightly guests.

Living in one unit of a two- to four-family

If you live in one unit of a two-, three- or four-family building, many carriers will write a homeowners policy that covers the whole building, the rented units and your landlord liability. Others write the building on a dwelling policy and your own unit’s contents separately. This is still your home, so we treat it like a homeowners placement first and make sure the rental exposure is disclosed correctly. See also homeowners insurance in Portsmouth.

Fully rented properties and rented condos

If you do not live in the building, you will generally need a landlord, or dwelling fire, policy. A DP-3 form typically covers:

• The building against fire, wind, hail, burst pipes and other covered losses
• Loss of rents while covered damage is repaired
• Premises liability if a tenant or visitor is hurt
• Other structures such as detached garages, sheds and fences

A rented condo is different again: the association’s master policy covers the building, and you need a unit-owner landlord policy or a rental endorsement on your HO-6 for the interior, your liability and lost rent. Tenants’ belongings are not covered by any of these. Ask tenants to carry renters insurance.

What carriers look at on a Portsmouth rental

• Age and updates. With most of the city’s rental stock built before 1980, expect questions about wiring (knob-and-tube or old fuse panels), plumbing, heating systems and roof age. Documented updates widen your options.
• The Historic District. Most exterior changes in the city’s Historic District need a Certificate of Approval from the Historic District Commission before work starts. After a big loss, that can slow repairs and raise the cost of matching original materials. We size loss of rents for a long repair and look at ordinance or law coverage.
• Porches, stairs and walkways. Exterior stairs, porches and icy walkways are a liability focus.

Flood and water on Portsmouth rentals

The city’s 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update (a July 2024 draft) says flooding is the most common hazard in Portsmouth, and its planning committee named six areas at risk of recurring flooding or with a high potential for future flooding: North Mill Pond, South Mill Pond, the South End, Peirce Island, Little Harbour and Sagamore Creek. The plan describes January 13, 2024, when a 9.6-foot high tide, a two-foot storm surge, rain and snowmelt flooded roads and properties downtown and in low-lying neighborhoods, and Strawbery Banke saw what the plan calls unprecedented flooding.

The current flood maps for Portsmouth are dated January 29, 2021. The city’s zoning ordinance also regulates an extended flood hazard area: land next to a mapped special flood hazard area that sits less than two feet above the base flood elevation. If your building is near a mapped zone but outside it, that is exactly the kind of address where flood is easy to skip and expensive to go without. Check the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. The same plan reports 132 NFIP policies in force across the whole city as of June 2024, including 15 on multi-family residential buildings.

Landlord and homeowners policies both exclude flood; see flood insurance. A landlord flood policy covers the building and, if you add contents, the appliances and furnishings you own; tenants need their own flood contents coverage. Water backup is usually excluded unless added.

• NFIP through Selective. We write new National Flood Insurance Program policies through Selective, a Write Your Own carrier. Landlords can buy NFIP building coverage, and contents coverage for what they own, on a rental. New NFIP policies generally carry a 30-day waiting period (see FloodSmart), so buy before a storm is in the forecast, not during it.
• Private flood. When the NFIP limits fall short, or you want coverage the NFIP leaves out, we compare Flow Flood, Neptune Flood, Beyond Floods, The Flood Insurance Agency, CatCoverage and Aon Edge. Each one decides address by address.
• Elevation certificates. If you have one for the building, send it. Flood carriers rate the building on its elevation, its foundation and what sits below the first floor.

Vacancy, turnover and renovation

Between tenants or during a renovation, a unit or the whole building may sit empty. Many policies limit coverage after a set vacancy period, and in Portsmouth a vacancy can also mean a new Certificate of Occupancy before the next tenant moves in. Tell us before the building sits empty so we can adjust coverage or add a vacancy endorsement. More in what Portsmouth and Seacoast owners should review before leaving a property empty and does homeowners insurance cover a vacant property.

Five or more units

A building with five or more units is commercial habitational property, not a dwelling policy. We can help, and our New Hampshire apartment building insurance guide explains how these policies work. See also our general landlord insurance page.

Liability and umbrella

Slip-and-falls on icy steps and walkways are typical landlord claims. A personal umbrella adds a layer above your property and auto liability, and we can show how it sits above more than one rental so the underlying limits line up.

Fees

We do not charge any fees, including on landlord and dwelling policies for your rentals.

Common gaps we see on Portsmouth rentals

• A homeowners policy still on a house or condo the owner has moved out of
• No loss of rents coverage, or a limit too low to carry the mortgage through a long repair
• An ADU or short-term rental the carrier was never told about
• No flood policy on a rental near the Mill Ponds, the South End or Sagamore Creek
• Liability limits that do not line up with the umbrella above them

How a Portsmouth landlord quote works

• Tell us about the property. Address, number of units, which unit you live in (if any), year built, and the age of the roof, heating, wiring and plumbing. Send current declarations pages and any recent claims.
• We match the form to the occupancy, homeowners for many owner-occupied buildings, dwelling fire for fully rented ones, a unit-owner landlord form for a rented condo.
• We compare carriers that fit the property and explain the differences in coverage, not just price, then coordinate the switch with your lender so there is no gap.

From our Portsmouth office

We are at 601 Islington St, Unit 206, Portsmouth, NH 03801, and we also work by phone, email and online. Call (603) 431-4020. For more reading, see landlord insurance vs. homeowners insurance, dwelling fire vs. homeowners insurance and our landlord property inspection checklist. Own a condo in the city? See our New Hampshire condo insurance guide.

Sources

• City of Portsmouth housing market study (RKG Associates, 2022)
• City of Portsmouth Housing Code, Chapter 14
• City of Portsmouth Zoning Ordinance (amended through September 28, 2026)
• Working Stiff Partners, LLC v. City of Portsmouth (N.H. 2019)
• City of Portsmouth, Historic District design guidelines: introduction (2016)
• City of Portsmouth, Hazard Mitigation Plan Update 2024 (draft, July 2024)
• FEMA Flood Map Service Center
• FloodSmart, buying a flood policy

Get a quote

Tell us about the property and we will compare carriers and follow up with options. Prefer to talk? Call (603) 431-4020.

Frequently asked questions

I live in one unit of my Portsmouth two-family. What policy do I need?

Usually a homeowners policy that covers the whole building and your landlord liability, or a dwelling policy for the building plus coverage for your own belongings, depending on the carrier.

I do not live in the building. What do I need?

Generally a landlord or dwelling fire policy, often a DP-3, with loss of rents and premises liability. A rented condo needs a unit-owner landlord policy or a rental endorsement on the HO-6.

Do I need anything from the city before I rent out a unit in Portsmouth?

The city’s Housing Code requires a Certificate of Occupancy from the Housing Code Inspector before a residential unit is rented. Check the current process with the city.

What about a building with five or more units?

That is commercial habitational property and needs a commercial policy, not a dwelling form. Ask us and we can help.

Do you charge fees on landlord policies?

No. We do not charge any fees, including on landlord and dwelling policies.