Unmarried couple wants to rent…
Question
If an unmarried couple wants to rent our home can we asked that only the man who has a job sign the lease agreement. We don’t want the unemployed lady friend to have her name on the lease in case the boyfriend leaves as she has no income. If her name isn’t on the lease and he leaves her we could then ask her to leave, but if her name is on the lease then it would be difficult to ask her to leave and she has no means to pay the rent. Also can we refuse to rent to unmarried couples?
Answer
In my opinion, there is almost never a reason to not have every adult occupant sign a lease. However, there are numerous reasons why every adult should be required to sign, some of which are discussed herein.
Federal, state, and local fair housing laws protect against housing discrimination. Some states do allow a landlord to use unmarried status as criteria for refusing an application. You will need to research your state and local fair housing laws to determine if there is an applicable law protecting unmarried couples from housing discrimination. If allowed by law and your rental standards you must be sure to apply your standards to all applicants. Each and every applicant must be screened using the same rental criteria, in the same manner, every time.
At a minimum, landlords should require that each applicant (who can be held liable on a lease agreement) should:
- Be of legal age (18, 19, or 21, depending on state) or an emancipated minor,
- Complete and sign a rental application,
- Sign an authorization of release of personal information form for credit reports, employment, rental history, eviction report, and criminal history, and
- Present at least two forms of personal identification, with at least one being a government-issued photo ID
Every occupant, age of maturity or emancipated (including spouses), should be named on the lease agreement. In the event one occupant defaults, you have recourse against the other tenant. The fact that one tenant has no income at the time of application does not mean he/she cannot be collected from in the future – even if completely penniless at the time of application, he/she may later be employed, win the lottery, inherit a fortune, or marry someone of significant financial status. Judgments against a person who had no income or assets at the time the judgment was obtained can be collectable for many years later and in other states. Furthermore, if the person seeks credit at a later date (including when applying to rent elsewhere) provides leverage for payment because credit grantors sometimes require payment of judgments as a condition of granting credit.
If you do not have her sign the lease and the boyfriend leaves you can certainly “ask” the lady to leave, but if she refuses you will have to legally evict her or any other person who has moved in, potentially costing you the same time, money, and stress as if she had been a wife. This is one reason why eviction complaints should usually include “John Does” as defendants. Having the unemployed person(s) sign the lease assures the ability to obtain a judgment against that person.
In general, the more people who can potentially be held liable for rent and damages the better the chance the landlord will eventually collect what’s owed. Furthermore, assuming that the lease agreement is correctly written to make each signer jointly and severally liable, the landlord need not try to collect from each one who signed the lease, but may pick the one who has the deepest pocket at that time or the one who is easiest to find.
Again, landlords must understand that an applicant’s current financial status is not always his/her status at some later date. Those long employed at high salaries may be unemployed next month. And, as previously stated, those who are currently unemployed and have no assets may be wealthy next month.