Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have two older ladies (one is in their 50's the other in her 60s) that want to lease my condo. One of them wants to be held completely financially responsible for everything while the other wants to be listed as just an occupant and not be financially responsible for anything. I thought everyone over the age of 18 had to be on the lease agreement. Can anyone tell me if I can do this legally and will my insurance deny any claims should I have to make on because of this agreement?

The Tenant is held responsible for the occupants acts, so if they are listed as just an occupant insurance shouldn't deny anything. You can call and talk to the insurance company directly and aware them of the situation to see what their policy is. As for the legal age that differs from state to state and even county to county.

Posted by Richard W, PA on Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Maybe one has a job and the other one doesn't have any income and so the one is supporting the other?

Posted by Dawn A, WI on Wednesday, September 11, 2013

If 2 women, I'd make both sign in as responsible tenants. If the financially sound one decides to jump ship, I can move the other out and not be left stuck with a non-paying tenant. If 2 men, probably the same as above. (I don't believe I've ever rented to 2 males). If 1 woman and 1 man, I usually have her solely sign it, just in case she wants to boot him out. This makes it easier for her to do so. For some reason, I tend to have fewer problems with female tenants than males. The younger your renters (I stay with 18 & up), the more apt I am to search for their parent(s)' information, just in case I need to find where the younger tenants departed to later on. Parents, family, guardians, are usually great sources for finding previous tenants, when such a search is necessary.

Posted by Hubert K, GA on Tuesday, September 24, 2013