Yes, because you could do more than the value of the lease in damage to the property, and then be so insolvent that there is no way to recover any of the money

Yes, because you could do more than the value of the lease in damage to the property, and then be so insolvent that there is no way to recover any of the money from you. I'm not saying I agree with this. Landlords are ridiculously abusive, as a renter you will frequently be asked to pay a $300+ nonrefundable "application fee" before they will show you the lease document. They then can put whatever terms they want into the lease, understanding that many renters would not be able to afford another application fee.