Renters Insurance Clause
in Your Lease
How this page is sourced
Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what Utah law says, what's specific to Salt Lake City - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- No section we read in Utah Code Chapters 22 and 17 requires renters insurance or names a coverage amount.
- A policy your lease requires is a lease term you must follow (§ 57-22-5(1)(h)).
- Before taking an application fee, the owner must give a written estimate of fixed, non-rent costs (§ 57-22-4(3)(a)).
- A charge above or outside the lease is barred, except month-to-month with a 15-day notice (§ 57-22-4(5)(b)).
- City chapters we read add no insurance rule; substantial mid-lease rule changes need your written consent under § 18.96.070.
Copy and send: Before you sign the lease, after comparing it with the written cost estimate
Questions about the insurance clause
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Utah compares
Typical required liability coverage, state by state
$100kNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 27 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.
Understanding the Renters Insurance Clause
This page is for Salt Lake City renters whose lease tells them to carry renters insurance and who want to know what Utah law says about it. The coverage amount comes from the lease, not from any Utah section we read.
Where Utah law does speak is the money around the clause: what the owner must estimate in writing before you pay, and the bar on charges above or outside the signed lease. Read those parts of your lease closely before you sign, and raise questions in writing.
What renters assume
If my lease names a coverage amount, Utah or Salt Lake City law must require that amount.
What is actually true
No section we read in Chapters 22 and 17 names a coverage amount, and the city chapters we read add none. The figure is a lease term, and § 57-22-5(1)(h) tells you to follow lease terms.
27 rows sit in the comparison further down this page. Eleven are drawn at $100,000, and 16 have no bar. Salt Lake City's row reads No state requirement, a label it shares with Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas, Newark, Detroit, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Indianapolis.
Seven more carry a no-figure label with a reason attached: Washington, Columbus, Charlotte, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Louisville and Oklahoma City. Of the eleven bars, nine carry the label typical, Los Angeles reads $100,000 (statutory) and Portland $100,000 cap.
The Utah figures in our record measure time rather than coverage: the five business days for a refund demand in § 57-22-4(4) and the 15-day notice in § 57-22-4(5)(b). Neither fits an axis drawn in coverage dollars.
An empty Salt Lake City row means our record found no coverage figure in Utah law; a lease can still name one, and § 57-22-5(1)(h) tells a renter to comply with each requirement of the rental agreement.
Renters Insurance Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Salt Lake City, UT
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 Resident is responsible for the insurance of their personal property in the case of fire or other perils that would be covered by a resident’s renters insurance policy, as Dattel Realty Company’s insurance policies do not cover personal property of the resident. Resident is also responsible for liability that resident may incur as the result of a negligent action by the Resident, both as to individual apartment leased or common areas, including elevators, stairwells, swimming pool, corridors, grounds, parking and paved areas.
Quoted from the published opinion in Dattel Family Ltd. Partnership v. Wintz, 250 S.W.3d 883 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). 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
“The Resident is responsible for the insurance”
In Utah this sentence draws its force from the lease, not from a statute. Our record of the Utah Fit Premises Act and the deposit chapter finds no section that requires a policy or names a coverage limit. What it does carry is § 57-22-5(1)(h), under which each renter shall “comply with each rule, regulation, or requirement of the rental agreement”. A requirement written here is that kind of term.
See the example
“insurance policies do not cover personal”
A landlord telling you what its own policy leaves out is a disclosure, and Utah's Fit Premises Act asks for disclosures about money before you pay anything. § 57-22-4(3)(a) requires a written good faith estimate of “the amount of each fixed, non-rent expense that is part of the rental agreement” and “the type of each use-based, non-rent expense” before an owner accepts “an application fee or any other payment”.
See the example
“may incur as the result of a negligent”
Utah writes the renter's side of this in its own words. § 57-22-5(2)(a) says a renter may not “intentionally or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the residential rental unit or knowingly permit any person to do so”. The statute states a duty, and the lease sentence states who answers for the loss.
See the example
“individual apartment leased or common areas, including”
Here the sentence carries the resident's liability out of the apartment and into shared space. The duty in § 57-22-5(2)(a), as our record quotes it, is written about “any part of the residential rental unit” and extends to knowingly permitting any person to do the damage. The list of common areas in this sentence is the lease's own.
See the example
The tenant won, and the landlord's fire insurer recovered nothing. Adopting the Sutton rule for Tennessee, the Court of Appeals held that telling a resident she is responsible for insuring her own personal property - and that the landlord's policies do not cover it - is not an “express agreement to the contrary” making her liable to the landlord's insurer for fire damage to the building. In the court's words: “While the Lease Agreement states explicitly that Wintz is expected to obtain renter's insurance to cover her personal property, it does not state that Wintz is obligated to obtain insurance for the Building.” Absent that express language, a residential tenant is an implied co-insured under the landlord's fire policy, so the carrier had no right of subrogation against her. Summary judgment for the tenant was affirmed. The practical lesson: a sentence about your possessions is a sentence about your possessions, and it does not quietly become a promise to insure the building.
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.
Utah Law on Renters Insurance Clause
- Where a policy is required, the requirement is a lease term.
Read the law's words
Utah Code § 57-22-5(1)(h) says each renter shall "comply with each rule, regulation, or requirement of the rental agreement", and Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.060(A) says a tenant shall "Comply with all appropriate requirements of the rental agreement and applicable provisions of building, housing and health codes". No section in our record requires a policy, forbids one being required, or names a coverage limit. - Costs must be disclosed before an application fee is taken.
Read the law's words
Section 57-22-4(3)(a) requires an owner, before accepting "an application fee or any other payment", to disclose in writing a good faith estimate of "the amount of each fixed, non-rent expense that is part of the rental agreement" and "the type of each use-based, non-rent expense". Under § 57-22-4(4) a prospective renter who has not signed or moved in may demand a refund "within five business days" of receiving a rental agreement whose amounts differ from the estimate, and the owner must return the money within five business days of the demand. - Charges must match the signed lease, though the renter's remedy is limited.
Read the law's words
Section 57-22-4(5)(b) says an owner may not charge "a fee, fine, assessment, interest, or other cost" that is "in an amount greater than the amount agreed to in the rental agreement" or "that is not included in the rental agreement", unless the agreement is month-to-month and "the owner provides the renter a 15-day notice of the charge." Section 57-22-4(9) then says a renter may not use a failure to comply with subsections (2) through (7) "to excuse the renter's compliance with a rental agreement" or "to bring a cause of action against the owner". - Damage a renter causes is covered by a duty and a deposit in our record.
Read the law's words
Section 57-22-5(2)(a) says a renter may not "intentionally or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the residential rental unit or knowingly permit any person to do so", and § 57-17-3(1) lets the owner apply a deposit toward "rent, damages to the premises beyond reasonable wear and tear, other costs and fees provided for in the contract, or cleaning of the unit."
Sources include Utah Code § 57-22-5(1)(h); Utah Code § 57-22-4(3); Utah Code § 57-22-4(4); Utah Code § 57-22-4(5); Utah Code § 57-22-4(8); Utah Code § 57-22-4(9); Utah Code § 57-22-5(2)(a); Utah Code § 57-17-3(1); Utah Code § 57-20-1; Utah Code § 57-22-7; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.060; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.070 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
No section we read in the Utah Fit Premises Act (Utah Code Title 57, Chapter 22) or the Residential Renters' Deposits chapter (Chapter 17) requires a renter to carry insurance or names a coverage amount. Four rules apply:
- Lease terms bind you (§ 57-22-5(1)(h)). Each renter shall "comply with each rule, regulation, or requirement of the rental agreement".
- Written estimate first (§ 57-22-4(3)(a) and (4)). Before taking an application fee or any other payment, the owner must give a good faith written estimate of each fixed, non-rent expense. If you have not signed or moved in and lease amounts differ, you may demand a refund within five business days of getting the lease, repaid within five business days of the demand.
- No charges beyond the lease (§ 57-22-4(5)(b)). An owner may not charge a fee or other cost above the agreed amount, or one the lease does not include, unless the tenancy is month-to-month with a 15-day notice. Under § 57-22-4(9), an owner's breach of these rules does not excuse your lease duties or let you sue.
- Damage (§§ 57-22-5(2)(a), 57-17-3(1)). You may not damage the unit on purpose or carelessly, and the owner may apply your deposit to damages beyond reasonable wear and tear.
Read the current text of these sections before relying on them.
What's Specific to Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City's code, in the chapters we read, sets no renters insurance rule and names no coverage amount. Those chapters are Chapter 18.96 (Fit Premises), Chapter 5.14 (Rental Dwellings) and Chapter 5.15 (Landlord/Tenant Initiative).
Our record of the city code finds the phrase "liability insurance" only in sections on business licences, special events, street work, enforcement remedies and dangerous animal permits. § 18.96.060(A) tells a tenant to follow the rental agreement.
Good. § 57-22-5(1)(h) ties you to each requirement of the rental agreement, so a written figure shows exactly what you agreed to carry.
Good. You can compare the lease against it before you sign.
Unless you rent month-to-month and got the 15-day notice, Utah bars a cost the rental agreement does not include.
§ 18.96.070 says no rule adopted after the rental agreement begins shall substantially modify its terms without your written consent.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Utah Code § 57-22-5(1)(h); Utah Code § 57-22-4(3); Utah Code § 57-22-4(4); Utah Code § 57-22-4(5); Utah Code § 57-22-4(8); Utah Code § 57-22-4(9); Utah Code § 57-22-5(2)(a); Utah Code § 57-17-3(1); Utah Code § 57-20-1; Utah Code § 57-22-7; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.060; Salt Lake City Code § 18.96.070, read on codes.findlaw.com. Read on codes.findlaw.com, which marks § 57-22-4 current as of January 1, 2025, and matched word for word against the Utah Legislature's own Chapter 22 file as archived by the Wayback Machine on September 9, 2026, which carries 2026 General Session history notes and shows § 57-22-4 last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, chapter 98; le.utah.gov could not be reached directly. The Salt Lake City Code was read on American Legal Publishing as current through Ord. 40-26, passed June 16, 2026 (2026 S-21); confirm the current text before relying on it.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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A coverage figure called a Utah requirement
No section we read in Utah Code Chapters 22 and 17 names one. Ask the landlord, in writing, which section the clause means.
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An insurance fee missing from the lease
A charge the signed lease does not include should not appear on your bill unless you rent month-to-month and were given a 15-day notice.
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Lease costs that differ from the estimate
If you have not signed or moved in, § 57-22-4(4) lets you demand your money back within five business days of getting the lease.
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A new insurance rule handed over mid-lease
Read it against the city's consent rule. A rule adopted after your lease began cannot substantially change its terms unless you agree in writing.
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A city permit rule borrowed for a lease
The Salt Lake City liability insurance sections we found cover business licences, special events and similar permits. None sits in the city's rental chapters.
Your Rights as a Salt Lake City Tenant
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A written cost estimate before you pay
The estimate must cover each fixed, non-rent expense and the type of each use-based, non-rent expense in the lease.
-
A refund if the numbers change
Before you sign or move in, you may demand a refund within five business days when the lease amounts differ, and the owner must repay within five business days.
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Charges that match the lease
Outside a month-to-month tenancy with 15-day notice, the signed lease caps what you can be charged. You cannot sue over a breach of that rule (§ 57-22-4(9)).
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Consent to mid-lease rule changes
A Salt Lake City rule adopted after your lease begins needs your written consent before it substantially modifies your terms.
What To Do - Step by Step
Ask for the cost estimate first
Before you pay an application fee, ask for the written estimate and whether any insurance charge billed through the landlord is on it.
Compare the lease with the estimate
If the amounts differ and you have not signed or moved in, demand your refund in writing within five business days of getting the lease.
Find the coverage figure and its source
Treat the amount as the landlord's ask. If the clause credits it to a law, ask which section it means.
Buy the policy the lease describes
Match the coverage to the lease's words and keep the declarations page with your lease.
Question extra charges in writing
Raise any charge above or outside the lease with the owner in writing, and keep the reply.
Keep the paper trail, then get advice
File the estimate, lease, policy and letters together. A legal aid office can review a clause that worries you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Renters Insurance rules near Utah
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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