Nashville short-term rental owners
Your Nashville STR permit needs $1 million in liability
Metro Nashville will not issue or renew a short-term rental permit without proof of insurance: fire, hazard and liability, with liability of at least $1 million per occurrence. Most homeowners policies were never written for paying guests, and many landlord policies weren't either.
We place short-term rental coverage for Nashville and the rest of Tennessee, shopped across multiple carriers, including specialty markets where a standard form won't fit.
Send us what you have nowOr call (615) 378-7187. Franklin office, serving all of Tennessee.
What Metro asks for
The permit rule, in plain terms
Both Metro Codes permit checklists, owner-occupied and not owner-occupied, require proof of homeowner's fire, hazard and liability insurance, with liability limits of not less than one million dollars per occurrence. Renewal asks for proof of current property insurance again.
Meeting the minimum is the floor, not the finish. A certificate can show $1 million of liability on a policy that still excludes guest-caused damage, or stops responding once the house is rented most nights of the year.
What matters is whether the policy behind the certificate is written for transient occupancy: different guests every few nights, no lease, and a much higher rate of guest-caused loss than a long-term rental.
LLC owners and owner-occupied permits
Metro's owner-occupied permit is only for a natural person who lives at the property permanently. LLCs, trusts and other entities can't hold one.
If you move a property into an LLC, the permit question and the insurance question change together. Talk to your attorney about the ownership, and to us about making the policy match it.
Where STR claims go wrong
Six gaps to check before the next booking
These are the losses short-term rental owners most often assume are covered. Read each one against the declarations page you have now.
Guest-caused damage
Theft, vandalism and deliberate damage by a paying guest are commonly excluded on residential forms. It is the most frequent STR loss and the one owners most often assume is covered.
Liability for paying guests
Someone who paid to stay is a business exposure. Homeowners liability can be narrowed or excluded once the property is used commercially, even if the certificate shows the right limit.
Lost booking income
If a covered loss takes the property off the calendar for three months, that is three months of revenue. Residential forms either leave it out or cap it at a figure meant for a displaced homeowner.
Furnishings and contents
A short-term rental is fully furnished and the contents are yours. Standard contents limits are set for a home someone lives in, not one outfitted to be let.
Parties and amenities
Bachelorette weekends, hot tubs, rooftop decks, bikes and grills. In Nashville these are where guest injuries and big liability claims start, and they deserve a specific answer.
Platform protection is not a policy
Airbnb's and VRBO's host programs sit behind their own terms and conditions. They are a backstop, not insurance you control or can show Metro or a lender.
Questions
What Tennessee owners ask
What insurance does Nashville require for a short-term rental permit?
Metro Codes requires proof of homeowner's fire, hazard and liability insurance, with liability of not less than one million dollars per occurrence. It is on both the owner-occupied and not-owner-occupied permit checklists, and renewal asks for proof of current property insurance. Check nashville.gov for the current checklist before you apply.
Does my homeowners policy cover my Airbnb?
Usually not, and often not at all once the property is rented regularly. A homeowners form is written for residential use by the people who live there. Renting to paying guests is business use, and many forms stop responding to exactly the losses that matter once it becomes the property's main purpose.
Isn't a landlord policy enough?
A landlord policy is written for long-term tenants on a lease. A short-term rental has different guests every few nights and far more guest-caused loss. The two are different products, and the difference shows up at the claim, not at the quote.
Can an LLC hold my Nashville STR permit?
Not an owner-occupied one. Metro only issues owner-occupied permits to a natural person who lives at the property; LLCs, corporations and trusts are ineligible. Not-owner-occupied permits are a separate type with their own zoning limits. Ask your attorney about ownership before you move a property into an entity.
Can I get a new non-owner-occupied permit in a residential neighborhood?
Under Metro's permit rules, new not-owner-occupied permits are only allowed as a conditional use in mixed-use, office, commercial and downtown districts, not in the AR2a, R, RS or RM residential zones. Existing permits in those zones can renew but can't be transferred when the property sells. That matters to anyone buying an existing STR.
I have an STR outside Nashville. Do you cover that?
Yes, anywhere in Tennessee. Rules differ by city. Franklin, for example, requires you to apply to the city before renting out a whole home for stays of less than 21 days. Check your city's rules, and we will make sure the insurance fits the use.
What do you need from me?
Your current declarations page, the address, whether you live there or not, how many nights a year it is booked, the amenities (pool, hot tub, decks), and who holds title. If you are applying for a permit, tell us the deadline.
Also for Tennessee owners and investors: landlord and rental portfolio insurance, apartment building insurance (5+ units), vacant building insurance, small business insurance in Franklin, and Sullivan James Tennessee.
Start here
Send us the policy on the rental
Upload the declarations page, or tell us about the property if you are still buying it or applying for the permit.
A licensed Tennessee agent reads it and shops it across multiple carriers. No obligation to switch, and nothing changes on your current policy unless you ask.
Sullivan James Tennessee · 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B, Franklin, TN 37064 · by appointment
(615) 378-7187 · tn@sullivanjames.com
General information, not legal or tax advice, and it creates no agent-client relationship. Whether and on what terms a carrier will offer coverage depends on its own underwriting, and policy wording varies by company. Metro Nashville permit requirements are from the Metro Codes Short Term Rentals pages on nashville.gov (permit checklists, permit types and FAQ), checked October 31, 2026; rules change, so confirm them with Metro before you apply. Sullivan James is an independent insurance agency licensed for property and casualty insurance, not an insurance company; for questions about how property is titled or held, talk to your attorney.