separate lease agreements for each adult, or one for all adults?

[Greg Mayer]

Hi BP community!

Another newbie landlord question :)

My wife and I are purchasing a duplex in Atlanta, GA. One side of the duplex has tenants that might stay after we close, the other side is vacant. We're moving into the vacant side and are putting together a 12-month lease for the occupied side in case the current tenants want to stay (and we want them to stay). Either way we will manage the property ourselves.

There are a few adults (and a child) living in the occupied side. I have a copy of their current lease, and the adults living there all signed one lease with their names on it.

The BP Landlord Forms had a lease package that we purchased, and we noticed that the residential lease agreement has the language "Tenant” (singular).

So my impression is that depending on the lease document the landlord chooses to use, some landlords have all their tenants sign one document, other landlords have each tenant sign separate documents.

Any recommendations on whether every adult living in the unit sign a separate lease agreement with identical terms (one document per adult tenant), or one agreement document for all the adults?