mistake in lease! what to do?

[Brandon Morgan]

hi all this is just a hypothetical. I currently am a new landlord. I bought a duplex house near Scranton this past year and it is rented out .  I am a few months in and it has been going okay so far despite a few hiccups. However I just realized there was a mistake in one of the tenants' lease! for one tenant it says that the landlord is responsible for utilities, and for the other tenant it says that the tenant is responsible for utilities. It is supposed to be tenant is responsible for utilities. I am going to have to have my realtor make an addendum to the lease. the tenant has been paying for utilities up until this point. has anyone ever been through this? also if the landlord becomes responsible for utilities would i be able to adjust the rent?? open to any advice, recommendations or past experiences. 

[Dominic Mazzarella]

Quote from @Brandon Morgan:

hi all this is just a hypothetical. I currently am a new landlord. I bought a duplex house near Scranton this past year and it is rented out .  I am a few months in and it has been going okay so far despite a few hiccups. However I just realized there was a mistake in one of the tenants' lease! for one tenant it says that the landlord is responsible for utilities, and for the other tenant it says that the tenant is responsible for utilities. It is supposed to be tenant is responsible for utilities. I am going to have to have my realtor make an addendum to the lease. the tenant has been paying for utilities up until this point. has anyone ever been through this? also if the landlord becomes responsible for utilities would i be able to adjust the rent?? open to any advice, recommendations or past experiences. 

I’ve never had this specific issue but mistakes like this are pretty common. Creating an addendum is the right move, especially if the tenant has been paying utilities as intended. If they push back, you might consider adjusting the rent to reflect the change. Just ensure any updates comply with Pennsylvania laws and are handled transparently. Clear communication is key here.