Renters Insurance Clause
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Kentucky law says, what's specific to Louisville - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- No Kentucky section we read requires renters insurance or names a coverage amount.
- A landlord may still require a policy as a lease term (§ 383.565(1)).
- A term making you excuse or indemnify the landlord's liability arising under law is unenforceable (§ 383.570(1)(d), (2)).
- Terms making you pay the landlord's attorney's fees or waive the act's rights are barred too (§ 383.570(1)).
- Louisville's Metro Code § 151.24 repeats these limits, and our record of the Metro Code finds no renters insurance rule.
Understanding the Renters Insurance Clause
This page is for Louisville renters whose lease tells them to buy renters insurance and who want to know what Kentucky law says about it. The dollar figure is only half of the clause.
The sentence beside it can go further and make you answer for the landlord's own liability. That second part is where Kentucky's landlord-tenant act speaks, so read those sentences closely before you sign, and raise any you do not like in writing.
What renters assume
Once I sign a clause promising to indemnify and hold the landlord harmless, I have to cover anything that goes wrong in the building.
What is actually true
§ 383.570(1)(d) bars a term making you indemnify the landlord for "any liability of the landlord arising under law", and § 383.570(2) makes it unenforceable. Whether your sentence is one turns on its exact words.
Of the 25 rows in the comparison further down this page, eleven are drawn at $100,000 and fourteen have no bar. Louisville is one of the fourteen. Eight of them read No state requirement: Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas, Newark, Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Indianapolis.
The other six carry a no-figure label with a note. Washington's is for void liability waivers, Baltimore's for void indemnity clauses and Milwaukee's for a waiver that voids the lease.
Columbus notes the lease in control, Charlotte the tenant's choice of carrier, and Louisville indemnity terms that are unenforceable. Louisville's note works on the same ground as Washington's and Baltimore's. § 383.570(1)(d) reaches the sentence that shifts the landlord's liability, not the size of your policy, and an axis drawn in coverage dollars has no place for it.
Renters Insurance Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Louisville, KY
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.
7. Insurance. [The Riggses are] responsible for obtaining fire and extended coverage, including public liability[ ] insurance with [the Harkers] to be listed as an additional insured under the policy. [The Riggses] shall also be responsible for renter's coverage on [the Riggses'] own personal property located on the Leased Premises. [The Riggses] shall indemnify and hold [the Harkers] harmless from all claims of thi9rd [sic] parties for bodily injury, property damage or death arising from [the Riggses'] use or occupancy of the Leased Premises.
Quoted from the published opinion in Hoosier Insurance Co. v. Riggs, 92 N.E.3d 685 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“with [the Harkers] to be listed as an additional insured under”
Naming the landlord on your policy is a lease term, and Kentucky leaves lease terms to the parties within limits. § 383.565(1) lets a landlord and tenant include “terms and conditions not prohibited by KRS 383.505 to 383.715 or other rule of law”. Our record of the Kentucky sections we read finds none that requires a policy, forbids one being required, or names a coverage limit.
See the example
“shall also be responsible for renter's coverage”
Our record of the Kentucky sections finds no text on a policy for your own belongings. What the act names for damage you cause is a duty and a deposit. § 383.605(6) requires a tenant to “Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so”.
See the example
“shall indemnify and hold [the Harkers] harmless”
This is the sentence Kentucky's act speaks to directly. § 383.570(1)(d) says a rental agreement may not provide that the tenant “Agrees to the exculpation or limitation of any liability of the landlord arising under law or to indemnify the landlord for that liability or the costs connected therewith.” § 383.570(2) says a provision prohibited by subsection (1) is unenforceable.
See the example
“arising from [the Riggses'] use or occupancy”
The indemnity here reaches third-party claims arising from the tenant's use of the home. § 383.570(1)(d) is written about “any liability of the landlord arising under law”, and how far a given claim is the landlord's own liability is a question our record does not settle. What § 383.570(2) does say is that a term making you indemnify the landlord for that liability is unenforceable.
See the example
The insurer's claim survived. Nobody was held liable. The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a Rule 12(B)(6) dismissal and sent the case back. Under Indiana's case-by-case approach this insurance paragraph has to be construed to work out who the parties intended to bear the risk of fire loss, which means the landlord's insurer could be a real party in interest entitled to sue the tenants in subrogation. The rule it leaned on is worth reading twice: “if a lease obligates a tenant to procure insurance covering a particular type of loss, such a provision will provide evidence that the parties reasonably anticipated that the tenant would be liable for that particular loss, which would allow an [ ] insurer who pays the loss to bring a subrogation action against the tenant.” The case was remanded for the trial court to read the lease and weigh the equities. So the clause was enough to keep the subrogation claim alive - it did not decide it, and no renter should read this as a ruling that the tenants owed the money.
How this state's law treats this clause
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.
Kentucky Law on Renters Insurance Clause
- Where a policy is required, the requirement is a lease term.
Read the law's words
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.565(1), repeated in Louisville Metro Code § 151.23(A), provides that "A landlord and a tenant may include in a rental agreement terms and conditions not prohibited by KRS 383.505 to 383.715 or other rule of law, including rent, term of the agreement, and other provisions governing the rights and obligations of the parties." No section we read requires a policy, forbids one being required, or names a limit. - The act's real constraint sits next to the insurance clause.
Read the law's words
Section 383.570(1) says a rental agreement "may not provide that the tenant" agrees to waive rights or remedies under the act, authorizes a confession of judgment, "Agrees to pay the landlord's attorney's fees", or agrees to the exculpation or limitation of the landlord's liability "arising under law or to indemnify the landlord for that liability or the costs connected therewith." Section 383.570(2) states: "A provision prohibited by subsection (1) included in rental agreement is unenforceable." Louisville Metro Code § 151.24 says the same. - What backs tenant-caused damage in the act is a duty and a deposit, not a policy.
Read the law's words
Section 383.605(6) requires a tenant to "Not deliberately or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the premises or knowingly permit any person to do so", and § 383.545(13) defines a security deposit as a payment "for the purpose of securing the landlord against financial loss due to damage to the premises occasioned by the tenant's occupancy other than ordinary wear and tear." - One liability rule in the chapter shields the landlord directly.
Read the law's words
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.085(5) provides that "Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a landlord shall not be liable for injuries by a person's assistance animal permitted on the landlord's property as a reasonable accommodation". That section sets no insurance requirement for either party.
Sources include Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.570(1)(d), (2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.565(1); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.605(6); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.545(13); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.085(5); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.198; Louisville Metro Code § 151.24; Louisville Metro Code § 151.23(A) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Copy and send: Before you sign the lease, after reading the insurance clause and the sentences around it
Questions about the insurance clause
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
No section we read in Kentucky's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act mentions renters insurance or a coverage amount. A policy requirement rests on § 383.565(1), which lets a landlord and tenant include terms "not prohibited by KRS 383.505 to 383.715 or other rule of law". Other sections we read bear on this clause:
- No exculpation or indemnity (§ 383.570(1)(d)). You may not agree to excuse or limit the landlord's liability arising under law, or to indemnify the landlord for that liability or the costs connected with it.
- No fee or waiver terms (§ 383.570(1)). A lease may not make you waive rights or remedies under the act, authorize a confession of judgment, or agree to pay the landlord's attorney's fees.
- Unenforceable (§ 383.570(2)). "A provision prohibited by subsection (1) included in rental agreement is unenforceable."
- Damage (§§ 383.605(6), 383.545(13)). You must not deliberately or negligently damage any part of the premises, or knowingly let anyone else do so. Your deposit secures the landlord against loss from damage caused by your occupancy, other than ordinary wear and tear.
Read the current Kentucky text on the Legislative Research Commission's site before you rely on it.
What's Specific to Louisville
How Kentucky compares
Typical required liability coverage, state by state
$100kNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 cities as a chart
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.
Our record of the Louisville Metro Code finds no section using the phrase "renters insurance". Its "liability insurance" sections deal with permits, licences, donation drop-off bins and similar matters; by their headings and excerpts, none concerns a residential tenant.
Louisville's landlord-tenant law is Metro Code Chapter 151, the city's adoption of the Kentucky act. Its § 151.24 repeats § 383.570 word for word apart from numbering, and § 151.23(A) repeats § 383.565(1).
If a lease credits its coverage figure to the city, ask which section it means. Confirm the current code first.
Good. The amount is a lease term under § 383.565(1), so a written figure shows exactly what you agreed to carry.
That is the clean version. The sentence to watch for is a promise to excuse or indemnify the landlord.
§ 383.570(1)(d) bars that term, and § 383.570(2) says a prohibited provision "included in rental agreement is unenforceable."
§ 383.570(1) bars a term by which the tenant "Agrees to pay the landlord's attorney's fees", and § 383.570(2) makes it unenforceable.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.570(1)(d), (2); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.565(1); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.605(6); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.545(13); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.085(5); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.500; Ky. Rev. Stat. § 383.198; Louisville Metro Code § 151.24; Louisville Metro Code § 151.23(A), read on apps.legislature.ky.gov. Read on the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission's statute site, whose Chapter 383 page says it includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session and that the KRS database was last updated on October 3, 2026; the Louisville Metro Code was read on American Legal Publishing in Supplement 2026 S-48, which states it is current through ordinances approved by the Mayor as of August 11, 2026.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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An indemnity sentence beside the policy
A promise to indemnify the landlord for its liability arising under law, or the costs connected with it, is unenforceable under § 383.570(1)(d) and (2).
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Wording that excuses the landlord
§ 383.570(1)(d) also bars a term making you excuse or limit the landlord's liability arising under law, even if the sentence never says indemnify.
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A coverage amount called a legal minimum
No Kentucky section we read names a coverage amount, and our record of the Metro Code finds no renters insurance rule. Ask in writing which section the figure comes from.
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Attorney's fees folded into the insurance paragraph
§ 383.570(1) bars a term by which you agree to pay the landlord's attorney's fees. A hold harmless sentence that adds them is worth a written question.
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A waiver of your rights under the act
§ 383.570(1) bars a term by which you agree to waive rights or remedies under the act, and § 151.24 repeats it for Louisville.
Your Rights as a Louisville Tenant
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No promise to cover the landlord's liability
A term making you excuse, limit or indemnify the landlord's liability arising under law is unenforceable (§ 383.570(1)(d), (2)).
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Your rights cannot be signed away
A lease may not provide that you agree to waive rights or remedies under the act (§ 383.570(1)).
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No promise to pay their lawyer
A lease may not make you agree to pay the landlord's attorney's fees (§ 383.570(1)), and Metro Code § 151.24 says the same.
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Wear and tear left out
Your deposit secures the landlord against damage from your occupancy "other than ordinary wear and tear" (§ 383.545(13)).
What To Do - Step by Step
Find the coverage figure
Treat it as your landlord's ask. No Kentucky section we read names a coverage amount.
Read the sentences around it
Look for any promise to excuse, limit or indemnify the landlord's liability. Under § 383.570(2) such a term is unenforceable.
Raise problems in writing before you sign
Ask which section any cited figure comes from, and ask to remove any indemnity sentence. Keep a dated copy of what you send.
Keep proof of your policy
Store the policy's declarations page with the lease, and answer any request for proof of coverage in writing.
Photograph the unit at both ends
§ 383.605(6) bars deliberate or negligent damage, and § 383.545(13) leaves ordinary wear and tear out of the deposit. Dated photos show which is which.
Check the current law, then get help
Read the current Kentucky text before you rely on it. If the landlord will not change a clause that worries you, a legal aid office is the next call.
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Renters Insurance rules near Kentucky
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