Guide
How to start renting out your home
Learn what changes when your home becomes a rental, and finish the jobs before the first tenant moves in.
Satisfy+ Editorial · Published July 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Satisfy+ is not an insurance agent, broker or adjuster. Your policy's wording controls.
General information, not legal advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Laws vary by state.
At a glance
- First call
- Your insurance agent
- New paperwork
- A record of rent and the costs of renting
- Before move-in
- A walkthrough with photos of every room
Renting out your home changes its insurance, its records and its paperwork. Most of the work happens in the weeks before the first tenant moves in.
What changes
Three agreements you already have treat a rental differently from a home you live in: the insurance policy, the mortgage and the HOA's rules. Check each one before you list. The checks to make before you rent walks through all three, along with the lead disclosure for a house built before 1978. Lead-based paint in good condition is usually not a hazard, but paint that is peeling, chipping or cracking needs prompt attention.
The insurance
Ask your agent how the policy treats a home that is rented out. A landlord policy covers the structure against fire, wind, hail and other covered perils, and most also pay for lost rent for a set period. It doesn't cover the tenant's belongings.
The money
Keep the rental's money apart from your own from the first day. Record each rent payment, each repair and each bill with its date and amount, and keep the receipt with it.
The house
Before the tenant moves in, walk the house room by room and photograph each one, so you have a record of its condition on the first day. Take video too, and photograph anything worn or damaged up close. Fix what you find before the keys change hands.
The move-in walkthrough, room by room lists what to look at in each room.
Ready for day one
Gather what a tenant needs on the first day: a key for every lock and the manuals for the appliances. Add a note of where the water shutoff and the electrical panel are. Write down who to call for a repair and how to reach you, and leave a copy in the house.
Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and change the furnace filter. Keep a list of what you did and when, with the photos, in the same folder as the rental's money record.
An annotated example
What to do next
Call your insurance agent first. Then open a separate record for the rental's money, and photograph the house the week before the keys change hands.
Get the home ready to rent
- Call the insurance agent about renting the home
- Start a separate record of rent and rental expenses
- Take photos of every room before the tenant moves in
Sources
Checked October 20, 2026
- Internal Revenue Service. Publication 527: Residential Rental Property (2025)
- Insurance Information Institute (insurer-funded). Coverage for renting out your home (2026)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real estate disclosures about potential lead hazards (2026)
- Landlord
- Renting out
