Mixed-use building insurance for storefronts and apartments.
Commercial property, liability, loss of rents and umbrella coverage for buildings that combine retail, restaurants or offices with residential units.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · How this page is researched
Two kinds of tenants, one policy
A building with a restaurant downstairs and apartments upstairs is rated on both. Carriers look at the commercial tenants' operations, especially cooking, alcohol and auto uses, as well as the habitational exposure of the residential units.
Older mixed-use buildings in Los Angeles also bring questions about wiring, plumbing and seismic retrofits. I place the building with carriers that write mixed occupancies, require the right insurance from your commercial tenants, and set loss of rents for both income streams.
- BuildingReplacement cost for the structure, including tenant improvements you own.
- Loss of rentsCommercial and residential rent lost after a covered loss.
- General liabilityInjuries in common areas, sidewalks and parking.
- UmbrellaHigher liability limits for lenders and larger buildings.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Building: address, year built, square footage and construction.
- Tenants: each commercial tenant's business and the number of apartments.
- Updates: roof, electrical, plumbing and seismic retrofit.
- Rents: annual commercial and residential rents.
- Lender: insurance requirements.
- History: current policy and loss runs.
California accessibility claims and the CASp inspection
A ground-floor shop, restaurant or office makes part of your building a place of public accommodation, which in California opens it to construction-related accessibility claims. Here is what the Civil Code says.
- The minimum. Civil Code 52(a) allows up to three times actual damages, but no less than $4,000 for each offense, plus attorney's fees the court sets. Section 55.56(f) assesses statutory damages per occasion the plaintiff was denied full and equal access, not per number of violations found at the property.
- Reduced to $1,000. Under 55.56(g)(1), the minimum drops to $1,000 per offense if every violation in the claim is corrected within 60 days of service and, before the plaintiff's visit, the area had a CASp finding that it met standards, or a pending CASp report you were already acting on. It doesn't apply to intentional violations.
- Reduced to $2,000. A small business as 55.56(g)(2) defines it (25 or fewer employees on average over three years and average annual gross receipts under $3,500,000, adjusted by the Department of General Services for inflation) that corrects everything within 30 days of service gets a $2,000 minimum.
- Stay and early evaluation conference. Under 55.54, a qualified defendant can apply for an order granting a 90-day stay and a mandatory early evaluation conference no later than 70 days after the order. The CASp report has to be filed and served at least 15 days before the conference.
Under 55.52, the site needs its CASp status before the defendant is served, and the Division of the State Architect says the status also takes a compliance schedule in place before the claim is filed. It doesn't extend to public areas the CASp didn't inspect, and an alteration to an inspected area means a new inspection. On a mixed-use building, public areas include the parking, each storefront and the shared entrance, and a tenant build-out can mean a new inspection. When I review a mixed-use building, I ask whether a CASp report exists and when it's dated.
Lease insurance clauses to read for
When a customer is hurt in a tenant's space, the lease and the tenant's policy shape how much reaches you. Four things I read for in a commercial lease on a mixed-use building:
- The right additional insured form. The ISO form written for this is CG 20 11, Additional Insured—Managers or Lessors of Premises (IRMI cites the 12 19 edition). IRMI describes it as a scheduled endorsement: the insurer lists you and the designated premises on the schedule. I ask for a copy of the endorsement showing your name and address, not only a certificate.
- Lease or license. IRMI notes CG 20 11 turns on premises "leased to you," and the tenant's insurer may ask for the written lease when you tender a claim. For space used under a license, without exclusive possession (IRMI's example is a gift shop in a hotel), IRMI says CG 20 26, Additional Insured—Designated Person or Organization, is the better fit.
- Waiver of subrogation, signed before the loss. If a tenant's kitchen fire damages your building, IRMI says whether your property insurer can pursue the tenant depends on the lease and the state. Some states treat the tenant as an implied coinsured on the landlord's policy (the Sutton rule), some don't, and some decide case by case. IRMI notes most commercial property policies permit pre-loss waivers.
- The tenant's fire damage limit. The ISO CGL carves fire damage to premises rented to the tenant out of certain exclusions, under a separate "damage to premises rented to you" limit. IRMI puts the basic ISO limit at $100,000, with higher limits offered by many insurers. If the lease holds the tenant responsible for building damage, compare that limit with what the lease asks for.
Mixed-use building insurance, answered
Can a mixed-use building be insured on a landlord policy?
Usually not. Buildings with commercial tenants are typically written on a commercial property and liability policy rather than a dwelling policy.
Do commercial tenants need their own insurance?
Yes. Leases should require tenants to carry liability and property insurance and name the owner as an additional insured.
Does the type of tenant affect my premium?
Yes. A restaurant or auto business increases fire and liability exposure compared with offices or retail.
Is earthquake coverage included?
No. Earthquake coverage for commercial buildings is bought separately, and lenders sometimes require it.
Does a California landlord have to get a CASp inspection?
No. The CASp paragraph in Civil Code 1938 says state law doesn't require one, and the Commission on Disability Access says the owner's duty is to state on the lease whether the property was inspected and, if so, whether it was found to meet applicable standards.
Can a tenant rely on the landlord's CASp inspection?
It can count. Civil Code 55.52 says a defendant doesn't have to be the party that hired the CASp to be a qualified defendant; what matters is that the site had a "meets applicable standards" or "inspected by a CASp" status before that defendant was served.
Do you offer mixed-use building insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- Cal. Civ. Code § 52 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 55.52 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 55.54 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 55.56 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1938 (California Legislative Information)
- DGS Division of the State Architect: CASp Property Inspection
- California Commission on Disability Access: FAQ, Disability Access Compliance
- IRMI: Landlord as an Insured (Stanovich, July 22, 2025)
- IRMI: Legal Liability Coverage Form—An Often-Overlooked Form (Trischan, Nov. 13, 2025)
- IRMI: The ISO Classification System and the CGL Policy (Stanovich, Nov. 8, 2019)
Send the address and rent roll. I'll shop it.
The address, tenant mix and current policy are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
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