Texas · Landlords · The tenant’s policy
A lease can require renters insurance. It does not insure your building.
Texas does not set a statewide dollar amount a tenant must buy. A lease can. Owners often ask for an HO-4 with a personal-liability limit written in the lease, proof that it is in force, and notice if it cancels. That policy covers the tenant’s belongings and the tenant’s liability. Your dwelling or landlord policy covers the building, your liability for the premises, and lost rent when the form includes it. Requiring the tenant’s policy does not replace yours.
Interested party is a notice, not a coverage. Being listed so you hear about a cancellation is not the same as being an additional insured, and it does not put the building on the tenant’s form. If the tenant is legally liable for damage, their liability section may respond, subject to that form’s exclusions. It still is not Coverage A on your policy. Their contents limit is theirs to choose. Your rebuild limit is yours, and it should be rebuild cost, not the rent or the sale price.
The landlord contract: landlord insurance. What the tenant is buying: Texas renters insurance. What your premium is actually pricing, without a fake average: Texas landlord cost. The regulator: Texas Department of Insurance.
Put the liability number you want in the lease, and keep the building on your own policy. Start a home quote or ask an agent.
