Landlord insurance for rental property in New York

An owner-occupied two-family can usually stay on a homeowners policy written for a two-family dwelling, as long as the carrier knows about the rental unit. Once you move out, or for three- and four-family houses, it's a landlord (dwelling fire) policy. Disclose the tenants either way; undisclosed rental is the fastest route to a denied claim.

If a covered loss makes the building uninhabitable, loss of rents replaces the rental income you lose during repairs, typically for up to 12 months. Without it, a fire means a mortgage payment with no rent coming in. It's inexpensive and I include it on every landlord quote.

Yes, in the lease, with you named as an interested party. Your policy covers the building; theirs covers their belongings and, importantly, their liability if they start the fire. It shifts a real share of your risk to a policy that costs them a few dollars a month. See the renters insurance page.

For damage beyond normal wear and tear, yes, within strict limits. General Obligations Law §7-108 caps the deposit at one month's rent for most residential units and lets you keep only reasonable, itemized costs for unpaid rent, damage the tenant caused beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid utilities owed to you under the lease, and moving and storing the tenant's belongings, never for ordinary wear or a prior tenant's damage. Within 14 days after the tenant moves out you must give an itemized statement and return the rest, or you lose the right to keep any of it. One month's rent pays for small repairs; a fire or a burst pipe is a claim on your landlord policy.

Most landlord policies restrict coverage after 30 to 60 consecutive days of vacancy: vandalism, glass breakage and freezing pipes are typically excluded. If a unit will sit empty for a renovation or a slow rental season, tell me and we'll add a vacancy endorsement or a vacant building policy.

Generally not without a specific endorsement or a commercial policy. Short-term rental is a hospitality exposure; carriers price it differently and some won't write it. Saratoga Springs in August is the classic case. Where New York's short-term rental law applies, Real Property Law §447-b requires a unit rented for less than 30 consecutive days to carry at least $300,000 of liability coverage for property damage and injury claims arising from the rental, which a booking platform's insurance can satisfy only if it's equal or greater.

Inside the City of Saratoga Springs you need a city short-term rental license, and the license application requires proof of property and premises liability insurance that allows for and acknowledges the rental use. Under Chapter 136A of the City Code, that insurance must cover at least the value of the dwelling plus at least $300,000 for third-party property damage or bodily injury claims arising from the rental, from an insurer licensed in New York or through a licensed excess line broker. The chapter also limits short-term rental to 150 days a calendar year and requires a passed Saratoga Springs Fire Department inspection, renewed each year. Around Lake George and in other towns the local rules differ, so check with the town or village before you list; the insurance question is the same, and I answer it in writing before the first booking.