2 People, 1 Room, Separate Applications, or Co-Application?

[Ashton Ferrazzo]

Hey folks!

This is probably a really really basic question but I have 2 people who are friends, interested in sharing a room. 1 of them will be leaving in a couple of months, but the other one would stay. I wanted to sign them both up for a 12 month lease, so that even if one of them leaves, they are both still responsible for payment.

Should I ask them to apply as primary, and co-applicants? Or should I ask them to apply separately, and then when we go to sign final lease documentation, put them both on the lease with a 12 month agreement?

Also, if I put them both on a 12 month agreement, how should I handle payment? Do I need to designate one as the "Primary" tenant who will be paying rent?

[Nicole A.]

Anyone 18 or older should complete their own application. In addition, anyone 18 or older is listed as a tenant on the lease. There is no "primary" and "secondary" or such. 

Typically, a lease should state that there is "joint and several liability in the case of multiple Tenants." This means that each one is 100% responsible, so they can't say "well I paid my half, so you can't evict me." How multiple tenants divide up the rent is between them. Always remember that.

You could do one lease, and then modify the lease later. Or since you know one is leaving soon, you could just create 2 leases (one for each).

But you need to see that the one remaining longer has the income to support paying rent on their own as a solo tenant.