Renters Insurance Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Maryland law says, what's specific to Baltimore - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- No section our record read in Maryland's landlord and tenant law requires a tenant to carry renters insurance or names a liability coverage amount, which leaves the lease as the source of any figure.
- § 8-105 voids a lease provision whose effect is to "indemnify the landlord, hold the landlord harmless, or preclude or exonerate the landlord" from liability for its own fault, in areas "not within the exclusive control of the tenant."
- § 8-208(d) bars a lease from carrying a provision void under § 8-105. Under § 8-208(g)(2), a tenant whose landlord tenders or tries to enforce one may recover actual damages, including reasonable attorney's fees.
- § 8-210(c)(2)(v) requires a landlord's written pet policy to state "Any liability insurance requirements", and § 8-203(i)(4) requires a deposit surety bond seller to say "The surety bond is not insurance for the tenant."
- Baltimore adds a flood warning. Under Baltimore City Code art. 13, § 9-2, a landlord whose unit the City has identified as in the Floodplain District must tell a prospective tenant they "may wish to consider acquiring flood insurance".
Understanding the Renters Insurance Clause
A renters insurance clause can ask two different things of you: to insure your own belongings and liability, and to carry losses the landlord's own fault would otherwise leave with the landlord. Maryland's statute speaks to the second.
No section our record read requires a Maryland tenant to carry renters insurance or names a coverage figure, which leaves the lease as the source of any amount. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-105 makes void a lease provision whose effect is to indemnify the landlord, hold it harmless or exonerate it from liability for its own fault, negligence or misconduct, in areas not within the tenant's exclusive control.
§ 8-208(g)(2) lets a tenant recover actual damages, including reasonable attorney's fees, when a landlord tenders or tries to enforce such a clause. Baltimore's own contribution is a flood warning: under art.
13, § 9-2, a floodplain unit comes with a written notice suggesting flood insurance before you sign.
What renters assume
Once a lease requires renters insurance, it can also make you hold the landlord harmless for anything that happens in the building, since your policy is there to pay.
What is actually true
§ 8-105 makes void a provision whose effect is to "indemnify the landlord, hold the landlord harmless, or preclude or exonerate the landlord" from liability arising from the landlord's own "omission, fault, negligence, or other misconduct" in areas not within your exclusive control. § 8-208(g)(1) makes such a provision "unenforceable by the landlord".
The comparison below holds 20 rows. Eleven are drawn at $100,000, and nine have no bar: Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas, Washington, Columbus, Newark, Detroit, Charlotte and Baltimore.
Of the eleven bars, nine carry the label typical, Los Angeles reads $100,000 (statutory) and Portland reads $100,000 cap.
Five of the empty rows read No state requirement: Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas, Newark and Detroit. Columbus and Charlotte name what fills the gap instead, the lease in one and the tenant's choice of carrier in the other.
Baltimore's row reads No figure; indemnity clauses void, closest in wording to Washington's No figure; liability waivers void. Both labels point at a rule about the clause rather than the size of the policy, and a bar has no way to measure that.
Nor can it show Baltimore's flood notice under art. 13, § 9-2, which reaches a prospective tenant before the lease is signed.
Plain English Version
If your Baltimore lease tells you to carry renters insurance, the lease is where that demand and its amount come from: the Maryland sections and city articles our record read set neither. What Maryland does limit is a clause making you cover the landlord's own negligence in areas you do not control, which § 8-105 makes void.
A landlord who puts such a clause in your lease, or tries to enforce it, can owe you actual damages and attorney's fees. If your unit is in a Baltimore floodplain, the landlord also owes you a written flood warning before you sign.
Renters Insurance Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Baltimore, MD
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
THE INSURANCE IS TO PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR YOUR PERSONAL POSSESSIONS. CHATHAM HILLS APARTMENTS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR PROPERTY IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT.
Quoted from the published opinion in Whitledge v. Klein, 348 Ill. App. 3d 1059 (Ill. App. Ct. 4th Dist. 2004). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“INSURANCE IS TO”
The lease explains what the policy is for, and in Maryland the lease is also where the demand for one comes from: no section our record read requires a tenant to carry renters insurance or names a liability coverage amount. The insurance term our record does find a landlord must put in writing sits in the pet policy. § 8-210(c)(2)(v) says that policy, given with the rental application, shall state “Any liability insurance requirements”, and it names no figure.
“FOR YOUR PERSONAL POSSESSIONS”
In parts of Baltimore, the city itself brings up insuring your belongings, before you sign. Under Baltimore City Code art. 13, § 9-2, a landlord whose unit the City or another agency has identified as within the Floodplain District must give a prospective tenant a written notice. It says flooding may damage personal belongings and that the tenant “may wish to consider acquiring flood insurance which may be purchased from some insurance agents.”
“NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR”
Here the lease stops talking about your policy and starts talking about the landlord's liability, and Maryland's § 8-105 looks at what a sentence like this does. A provision whose effect is to “preclude or exonerate the landlord from any liability” for loss arising from the landlord's own “omission, fault, negligence, or other misconduct”, in areas not within the tenant's exclusive control, “is considered to be against public policy and void.”
“IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT”
An accident is the moment a disclaimer gets tested, and Maryland prices the attempt to rely on one. § 8-208(d) bars a lease provision that “Is against public policy and void under § 8-105 of this title,” and § 8-208(g)(1) makes a prohibited provision “unenforceable by the landlord”. Under § 8-208(g)(2), a tenant whose landlord tenders a lease with one, or tries to enforce it, “may recover any actual damages incurred as a reason thereof, including reasonable attorney's fees.”
The endorsement did not stop the tenants' lawsuit. Answering certified questions, the Illinois Appellate Court held that section 1 of the Illinois Landlord and Tenant Act (765 ILCS 705/1) voids not only exculpatory lease clauses but also, “by clear and necessary implication,” lease language that shifts the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant through a required renters-insurance or indemnity arrangement. The court's reason is the sentence to remember: “an indemnity clause in a lease has the same effect as a lease exculpatory clause: the landlord does not pay.” So the renters-insurance endorsement did not require dismissal of the tenants' fire-damage negligence suit, and the tenants' insurers, standing in the tenants' shoes, got the same statutory protection the tenants had. For a renter the point is narrow and useful: being made to buy a policy is one thing, and being made to buy the landlord's way out of its own negligence is another.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Maryland Law on Renters Insurance Clause
- The section that matters most sits beside the insurance clause. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-105 provides that if the effect of a lease provision "is to indemnify the landlord, hold the landlord harmless, or preclude or exonerate the landlord from any liability to the tenant, or to any other person, for any injury, loss, damage, or liability arising from any omission, fault, negligence, or other misconduct of the landlord on or about the leased premises", in areas "not within the exclusive control of the tenant, the provision is considered to be against public policy and void." It adds: "An insurer may not claim a right of subrogation by reason of the invalidity of the provision."
- Using such a clause has a cost for the landlord. Section 8-208(d) bars a lease provision that "Has the tenant agree to waive or to forego any right or remedy provided by applicable law" or that "Is against public policy and void under § 8-105 of this title." Under § 8-208(g)(1) a prohibited provision "shall be unenforceable by the landlord", and under § 8-208(g)(2) a tenant whose landlord tenders a lease with one, or tries to enforce it, "may recover any actual damages incurred as a reason thereof, including reasonable attorney's fees."
- Insurance terms tied to pets must be disclosed in advance. Section 8-210(c) requires the landlord of any residential rental property to give a written copy or summary of the property's pet policy in any rental application form, and § 8-210(c)(2)(v) says that policy shall state "Any liability insurance requirements." The section names no coverage amount.
- A deposit surety bond is a different product from renters insurance. Under § 8-203(i)(1) a landlord "May not require the tenant to purchase a surety bond" in place of a security deposit, and § 8-203(i)(4) requires the surety to tell the tenant in writing, before purchase, that "Payment for a surety bond is nonrefundable" and that "The surety bond is not insurance for the tenant."
13, § 9-5 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Start with what is absent. No section our record read in Maryland's landlord and tenant law requires a tenant to carry renters insurance or names a liability coverage amount, which leaves the lease as the source of any requirement and any figure.
The insurance rule our record does find works on the clause beside the policy. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-105 covers a lease provision whose effect "is to indemnify the landlord, hold the landlord harmless, or preclude or exonerate the landlord from any liability to the tenant, or to any other person".
The liability in question arises from "any omission, fault, negligence, or other misconduct of the landlord on or about the leased premises".
Where that happens in areas "not within the exclusive control of the tenant, the provision is considered to be against public policy and void." The section closes with a sentence about insurers: "An insurer may not claim a right of subrogation by reason of the invalidity of the provision."
Read the scope with care. Our record of § 8-105 is about the landlord's own fault, negligence or misconduct, and it does not reach a clause asking you to insure your own belongings or your own liability. This page takes no position on such a clause.
Using a void clause has a cost for the landlord. § 8-208(d) bars a lease provision that "Has the tenant agree to waive or to forego any right or remedy provided by applicable law" or that "Is against public policy and void under § 8-105 of this title." Under § 8-208(g)(1) a prohibited provision "shall be unenforceable by the landlord".
Under § 8-208(g)(2), a tenant whose landlord tenders a lease with such a provision, or tries to enforce it, "may recover any actual damages incurred as a reason thereof, including reasonable attorney's fees."
Two more sections touch insurance. § 8-210(c)(2)(v) requires a landlord's written pet policy, given with the rental application, to state "Any liability insurance requirements", and it names no amount. § 8-203(i)(1) says a landlord "May not require the tenant to purchase a surety bond" in place of a security deposit.
Where a tenant buys one anyway, § 8-203(i)(4) requires the surety to say in writing, before purchase, that "Payment for a surety bond is nonrefundable" and that "The surety bond is not insurance for the tenant."
These sections were read in the General Assembly's 2026 Regular Session text, and its bill list shows no bill passed that session amending § 8-105, § 8-208 or § 8-210. Read the current text before you rely on it.
Maryland Tenant Protections
No section our record read in Maryland's landlord and tenant law requires a tenant to carry renters insurance or names a liability coverage amount. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-105 makes void as against public policy any lease provision whose effect is to indemnify the landlord, hold the landlord harmless, or preclude or exonerate the landlord from liability.
The liability it covers is for injury, loss or damage arising from the landlord's own omission, fault, negligence or other misconduct in areas not within the tenant's exclusive control. It adds that an insurer may not claim a right of subrogation by reason of the invalidity of the provision.
Section 8-208(d) bars a lease provision that waives a right or remedy provided by applicable law or that is void under § 8-105. Under § 8-208(g) such a provision is unenforceable by the landlord, and a tenant whose landlord tenders or tries to enforce one may recover actual damages, including reasonable attorney's fees.
Section 8-210(c)(2)(v) requires a landlord's written pet policy to state any liability insurance requirements.
Under § 8-203(i) a landlord may not require a surety bond in place of a deposit, and the surety must disclose that the bond is not insurance for the tenant. In Baltimore, City Code art.
13, § 9-2 requires a landlord notified that a unit is in the Floodplain District to give a prospective tenant a written flood notice, and § 9-5 makes a landlord who fails to give it liable for actual damages proximately caused by natural flooding.
What's Specific to Baltimore
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Baltimore has two local layers of law: the Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City, enacted by the General Assembly, and the Baltimore City Code. On renters insurance, the City Code articles our record read set no requirement and no coverage amount for tenants.
Those were Article 13 (Housing and Urban Renewal) Subtitles 7 (Residential Lease Requirements) and 9 (Rental Units in Floodplain District) in full, plus text searches of the rest of Article 13 and of the Property Maintenance Code. A search of the city's bulk code download for "renters insurance" and "renter's insurance" returned no results.
Its "liability insurance" results were licensing rules for parking lots, towing, valet operators, an Article 31 provider permit and demolition contractors. None of them is a lease term.
If a Baltimore lease credits a coverage figure to the city, ask in writing which section it means.
What Baltimore does add is a flood warning. Under art.
13, § 9-2, where any part of a rental unit, its parking area or its separate storage area is within the Floodplain District, and the City or another agency has notified the landlord, the landlord must give any prospective tenant a written notice and acknowledgment.
The notice says the area is prone to flooding and that flooding may damage personal belongings and motor vehicles. It tells the tenant they "may wish to consider acquiring flood insurance which may be purchased from some insurance agents", and warns that damage to motor vehicles may not be covered by such insurance.
The subtitle also sets the form. The notice is printed in bold face type, set apart from the body of the lease, and initialed by both parties and attached to a written lease, or presented before an oral lease is agreed.
The penalty sits in § 9-5. A landlord who received notice that the tenant's unit is within the Floodplain District and failed to give the notice and acknowledgment "shall be liable for actual damages proximately caused by natural flooding."
Beyond that warning, the insurance-clause rules our record carries for a Baltimore renter are the state's: § 8-105 on indemnity and exoneration, and § 8-208 on what a void clause costs a landlord.
The city site states its code is current through July 17, 2026, with Ordinance 26-129 as the last codified ordinance. Check the current code before treating the absence of a city insurance rule as settled.
§ 8-105 makes void a provision that precludes or exonerates the landlord from liability for its own fault, negligence or misconduct in areas not within your exclusive control.
The same section reaches a provision whose effect is to "indemnify the landlord" or "hold the landlord harmless" for that fault, and § 8-208(g)(1) makes it unenforceable by the landlord.
Art. 13, § 9-2 requires the notice and acknowledgment for a prospective tenant once the landlord has been notified, and § 9-5 sets liability for actual damages from natural flooding if it is skipped.
§ 8-210(c)(2)(v) requires the written pet policy, given with the rental application, to state "Any liability insurance requirements".
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-105; Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-208(d)(2), (d)(7), (g); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-210(c)(2)(v); Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-203(i)(1), (i)(4)(ii); Baltimore City Code art. 13, § 9-2; Baltimore City Code art. 13, § 9-5, read on mgaleg.maryland.gov. The Maryland General Assembly publishes this section in its 2026 Regular Session statute text, and its 2026 bill list shows no bill passed that session amending § 8-105, § 8-208 or § 8-210.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
-
A coverage figure credited to Maryland law
The Maryland sections our record read set no coverage figure a lease may demand. A clause that attributes its number to state law should name the section it means.
-
A release of the landlord's own negligence
§ 8-105 makes void a provision that exonerates the landlord from liability for its own fault in areas not within your exclusive control.
-
An indemnity that covers the landlord's fault
A promise to "indemnify" or "hold the landlord harmless" for the landlord's own negligence falls under § 8-105, and § 8-208(g)(2) lets you recover actual damages if the landlord tenders or enforces it.
-
A surety bond sold as insurance
§ 8-203(i)(4) requires the surety to tell you in writing that "The surety bond is not insurance for the tenant", and § 8-203(i)(1) bars a landlord from requiring one.
-
No flood notice for a floodplain unit
Art. 13, § 9-2 requires a written flood notice for a unit the City has identified, and § 9-5 makes a landlord who skips it liable for actual damages from natural flooding.
Your Rights as a Baltimore Tenant
-
Void indemnity and exoneration clauses
§ 8-105 voids a provision that indemnifies, holds harmless or exonerates the landlord for its own fault in areas not within your exclusive control.
-
Damages when a void clause is used
§ 8-208(g)(2) lets a tenant recover actual damages, including reasonable attorney's fees, when the landlord tenders or tries to enforce a prohibited provision.
-
Insurance terms in the pet policy up front
§ 8-210(c)(2)(v) requires the written pet policy given with the application to state any liability insurance requirements.
-
A flood warning before you sign
Art. 13, § 9-2 requires a written flood notice for a prospective tenant of a floodplain unit, and § 9-5 attaches liability for actual damages if it is skipped.
What To Do - Step by Step
Separate the policy from the shield
Read the sentence asking you to buy insurance apart from any sentence saying the landlord is not liable, or that you will indemnify it. § 8-105 is aimed at the second kind.
Get the coverage figure in writing
The Maryland sections our record read name no amount, so ask for the required limit as a fixed number in the lease before you sign and price a policy against it.
Check the pet policy's insurance line
If you have an animal, compare any insurance demand with the pet policy from the application, which § 8-210(c)(2)(v) requires to state liability insurance requirements.
Ask about the Floodplain District
Before signing, ask whether the City has identified the unit, its parking area or its storage as in the Floodplain District. Art. 13, § 9-2 requires the written notice when it has.
Keep a surety bond apart from insurance
§ 8-203(i)(1) bars a landlord from requiring a surety bond, and the seller must tell you under § 8-203(i)(4) that it is not insurance for the tenant.
Object in writing, then get help
Send a written objection naming § 8-105 and § 8-208(g), and keep a copy. A legal aid office is the next call if the landlord insists on the clause.