Texas does not require a landlord to carry insurance. It does require a landlord to do several specific things that create liability if they are not done, and it lets a mortgage lender impose insurance requirements the state never would. So the practical answer is not “what does the law require” — it is “what will actually respond when something goes wrong,” and for most Texas landlords the answer starts with a policy they do not have.
Is a homeowners policy enough for a rental property?
No, and this is the most common and most expensive mistake in the category.
A standard homeowners policy is written for an owner-occupied residence. Once you move out and rent the property, the policy’s occupancy assumptions no longer describe the risk. Carriers write specific exclusions and conditions around this, and the outcome at claim time can be a denial on a loss you assumed was covered — or a non-renewal once the carrier discovers the change. Converting a former residence into a rental without telling your agent is the single cleanest way to end up uninsured while paying premium.
The correct form is a dwelling policy — commonly a DP-3 for a single rental house, or a commercial property and general liability program once you own several or own multifamily. It is built around a non-owner-occupied dwelling and around the coverage a landlord actually needs.
What coverages does a Texas landlord need?
Dwelling property
The structure, at replacement cost rather than actual cash value. Actual cash value deducts depreciation, and on a 25-year-old roof that difference is most of the claim. Check two things beyond the limit: whether ordinance or law coverage is included, which pays the added cost of rebuilding to current code on an older property, and what your wind and hail deductible is as a dollar figure, not a percentage.
On that second point, run TDI’s own arithmetic: a 5% deductible on a $150,000 structure is $7,500, so if the property needed $6,500 in roof repairs, the policy pays nothing. In hail country that percentage is the most consequential number on the declarations page.
Landlord liability
Injuries to tenants, guests, and visitors, and the defense costs that come with them. This is where the Texas Property Code intersects with your insurance program, because most premises claims against landlords are built on a statutory duty.
Loss of rents
Also called fair rental value. If a fire makes the unit uninhabitable for five months, this replaces the rent while it is being repaired. Most landlords carry too little of it because the limit was set relative to an old rent roll.
Other structures, contents, and equipment breakdown
Detached garages, fencing, and outbuildings need to be scheduled. Landlord-owned contents — appliances, window units, furnishings in a furnished rental — are a separate limit. Equipment breakdown covers HVAC compressors and water heaters failing from mechanical or electrical causes, which the base property form does not.
Umbrella
Cheap relative to what it does, and the coverage most worth adding once you own more than one property. Confirm it sits over both your rental liability and your personal auto and homeowners, and that the underlying limits it requires actually match what you carry.
Flood, separately
Flood is excluded from every standard property policy. If the property sits anywhere near a creek or in a mapped floodplain — and Central Texas has a great deal of both — it is a separate policy with its own waiting period. Buy it before the forecast, not after.
What does Texas law require me to do as a landlord?
Three obligations under Property Code Chapter 92 shape your liability exposure more than anything else.
Security devices
Under Chapter 92, Subchapter D, with some specific exceptions, a dwelling must be equipped with security devices — window latches, keyed dead bolts on exterior doors, sliding door pin locks and sliding door handle latches or security bars, and door viewers (§92.153). These must be installed at the landlord’s expense, and a tenant has the right to request installation or repair when devices are missing or defective.
Smoke alarms
Subchapter F governs smoke alarms, including the landlord’s duty to install and locate them (§§92.254–92.255), the inspection and repair obligation (§92.258), and liability for failure to install, inspect, or repair (§92.259). The Texas Attorney General’s renter guidance states plainly that the landlord must provide smoke detectors and that the tenant may not waive the provision or disable the device.
Repairs
The duty to repair conditions materially affecting the physical health or safety of an ordinary tenant, and the statutory notice-and-remedy process that follows. Deferred maintenance is not just a habitability problem; it is the evidentiary spine of a premises liability claim.
Every one of these is a documentation exercise as much as a maintenance one. Dated move-in checklists signed by the tenant, a written work-order system with response times, photographs, and retained records of smoke alarm installation and testing are what a defense attorney needs — and what an underwriter reads as a well-run operation.
Should I require tenants to carry renters insurance?
Yes, and put it in the lease. Two clauses, not one:
- Require a renters policy with a minimum personal liability limit, and require proof at signing and at each renewal. Your dwelling policy covers your building, not the tenant’s belongings — a fact most tenants do not learn until after a fire.
- Require the landlord to be named as an interested party so you are notified if the policy lapses. A requirement you cannot verify is a requirement you do not have.
The tenant’s liability coverage matters to you directly. When a tenant’s negligence — an unattended candle, a grease fire, an overflowed tub — damages your building, their policy is what your carrier subrogates against. Without it, the loss stays on your claim history and your future rate.
What about short-term rentals?
A separate answer entirely. Standard dwelling and homeowners forms generally exclude or restrict short-term rental activity, and platform-provided host protection is not a substitute for a policy — it is typically excess, conditional, and narrow on liability. If you rent by the night or the weekend in New Braunfels, Gruene, or on the Guadalupe, tell your agent explicitly and get a form written for it. This is a place where an undisclosed use is discovered at claim time, which is the worst possible moment.
What if I own several properties?
Past three or four doors, the individual-policy approach starts costing you money and coverage consistency. Options worth pricing:
- A blanket or scheduled commercial property program covering all locations under one policy, one renewal date, and one deductible structure.
- Holding properties in an LLC, with the entity named correctly as the insured on every policy. An LLC with a policy still written in your personal name defeats the point of the entity.
- A commercial umbrella above the whole schedule rather than separate personal umbrellas.
If you own rental property in Seguin, New Braunfels, or anywhere in Guadalupe or Comal county, the fastest useful review is this: send us the declarations page and tell us whether the property is occupied by a tenant, a family member, or nobody. Those three answers require three different forms, and mismatches between them are the most common uncovered loss we see. Our home insurance team handles single rentals, and our commercial specialties group takes over once the portfolio grows.
Related reading: How Much Does Apartment Building Insurance Cost in Texas?
