With a rental, you will definitely want a rental property policy to help protect you from liability in the event that a tenant gets injured, etc.

Or if you're injured for example and can't work for 9 months...  

You could also get hit with a huge lawsuit if the units are not up to code and a tenant gets injured, or if a vindictive tenant turns you in.Get the seller to get a zoning exemption and make the duplex legal, or get a substantial price concession, so that the deal makes sense as a single family. 

@Jay Helms Interesting response considering that a landlord legally can be held liable in Florida if a tenant disables a smoke alarm and is then subsequently injured in a fire. 

This week one of my tenants texted me saying they he injured himself on steps due to one of the step giving way.

They attract neighborhood kids and if one sneaks in and is injured, you're still on the hook even if they didn't have your permission.

Regarding your tenants they should know that none of their personal contents, furniture, clothes electronics etc are covered under your homeowners policies and therefore if they want them covered they should purchase a "Renters Policy" and please note that the renters policy should come with some liability coverage should your tenants have guests over that get injured which is helpful to you especially in a serious accident where damages could be significant.

In almost all situations it is considered a bad idea to give rent credit in exchange for work done. this muddles your numbers and makes it difficult to properly account for revenue and expenses. the solution is to have tenant pay rent, then issue a check for work done.also an issue is the idea of liability when having a tenant work on your home. if tenant is injured you can be liable, and the general rule of thumb is to only allow licensed and insured contractors to work on your home, even if they happen to be the tenant. my personal opinion, I would not allow tenant to do any of it. hire a handyman or contractor to do it. less risk. if inside of house was fine when tenant signed lease, and a long time has not passed, then it should be fine going forward. house was rented as is. if outside needs to be pressure washed and painted, then get it done, since your curb appeal effects the whole neighborhood.that's just my .02 cents though

Protecting Your AssetsIf you are sued because someone is injured on your rental property, including a guest of the tenant, then your personal assets are not necessarily protected as an individual landlord.

Ohhh---  here's the flip side, they hire their buddy to do the labor, and the guy injures himself because he doesn't know what he's doing, and then sues you-- the landlord!