Riskiness in making my room legitimate
January 23, 2019 4:13 PM Subscribe
When I moved into my apartment some three years ago, I moved in with a friend. He left a while ago, and while his name was on the lease, mine wasn't due to unstable finances at the time. Everything is much better, but I'd like to clear the axe over my head of "if the management company finds out I'm living here without being on the lease, I'm doomed."
I'm wondering if there are any options here towards legitimizing my tenancy. I've been paying rent punctually for the last three years, I use the address for my bank and credit cards, there's never been any trouble and they've never inquired as to my living situation. My friend is still on the lease even though he asked to be taken off some time ago. The management company is kinda absent and pretty hands off. They've never done an inspection and generally leave everyone alone as long as the rent gets paid.
Would it be insane to apply to live where I'm currently living? Is this situation better left alone, knowing that one day I could be evicted with next to no notice? What can/should I do with this situation?
I'm wondering if there are any options here towards legitimizing my tenancy. I've been paying rent punctually for the last three years, I use the address for my bank and credit cards, there's never been any trouble and they've never inquired as to my living situation. My friend is still on the lease even though he asked to be taken off some time ago. The management company is kinda absent and pretty hands off. They've never done an inspection and generally leave everyone alone as long as the rent gets paid.
Would it be insane to apply to live where I'm currently living? Is this situation better left alone, knowing that one day I could be evicted with next to no notice? What can/should I do with this situation?
Speak to a lawyer who has experience in tenant law in your area. If you are in a state where accepting your rent establishes a waiver of the lease, then what is likely to happen is that your lawyer will send them a letter on letterhead explaining the situation and letting them know you want to stay, then they will go "OK, then sign this lease" and it'll be fine.
There may be an issue with the deposit...if you bought out your friend's deposit directly with them, the management has to make the deposit yours now, which is mildly complicated but ultimately not unsolvable. It's mainly just a paperwork problem and they might already have a form for this.
It is possible, as with any time you poke your landlord with a stick, that they will try to raise your rent or add undesirable lease conditions or something. That is why I am suggesting a lawyer who has experience with local tenant law, or find a local tenants' union who can help you approach this in a way that doesn't result in you having to move even if it doesn't go well.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:36 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
There may be an issue with the deposit...if you bought out your friend's deposit directly with them, the management has to make the deposit yours now, which is mildly complicated but ultimately not unsolvable. It's mainly just a paperwork problem and they might already have a form for this.
It is possible, as with any time you poke your landlord with a stick, that they will try to raise your rent or add undesirable lease conditions or something. That is why I am suggesting a lawyer who has experience with local tenant law, or find a local tenants' union who can help you approach this in a way that doesn't result in you having to move even if it doesn't go well.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:36 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
You should talk to a lawyer and then go to the landlord. Speaking as a real estate investor and a long time landlord, if you were paying rent punctually for three years and getting along with people and not damaging stuff or bugging me for repairs, I would be elated to sign a lease with you and legitimize the existing arrangement in order to give you peace of mind. But local law can affect how something like this is handled, so first figure out what yours says about it.
posted by zdravo at 6:15 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by zdravo at 6:15 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Since you've been there several years, have always paid rent on time, and are apparently a model tenant, you're a property manager's dream in all respects other than being on the lease. They'd have to be insane to evict you, possibly lose rental income, and then have to find another tenant. If it's worth it for your peace of mind to settle this officially, I have a hard time imagining it not working out just fine.
posted by EKStickland at 8:37 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by EKStickland at 8:37 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Do you live in a place with rent control? That’s the one reason landlords often refuse - rent control only applies as long as the original tenant(s) are still there. So they won’t add new people who would extend it.
posted by amaire at 6:49 AM on January 24, 2019
posted by amaire at 6:49 AM on January 24, 2019
You absolutely should talk to a tenant-rights office in your area before taking any steps with the management company. You need to get a copy of the lease from your friend if you don't have one.
"if the management company finds out I'm living here without being on the lease, I'm doomed."
Are you paying the rent under your own name? If so, don't they know that you're living there, especially since at once point your former roommate asked to be taken off the lease? I'm a little confused, are there other roommates who ARE on the lease, just not you?
One possible reaction from the management company is the common-sense option: you're already a perfectly good tenant and the path of least resistance is to just take him off the lease and put you on the lease, presuming you now pass a credit check with an acceptable score. If there are other roommates, this is probably a pretty good bet.
However, if there are not other roommates, and the only person with whom they had a legal agreement left three years ago? Well, the good news is that they would be very unlikely to evict you immediately -- that's a WHOLE lot of trouble and expense for them for no good reason. However, a totally commonsense option from a business standpoint would be to let you ride out the current lease-year (presuming this is a yearly lease that's been auto-renewing) but then put the apartment on the market for a new tenant at the current market rate. Even if they do accept you as the new tenant (which they very well may because again, path of least resistance) you should be prepared to accept a rent hike if market prices have gone up.
P.S. Absolutely do not confess to the management company that you weren't on the lease originally because of unstable finances at the time. If it states outright that everyone residing at the address is required to be on the lease, say that you didn't realize this when you moved in with your friend.
posted by desuetude at 9:08 AM on January 24, 2019
"if the management company finds out I'm living here without being on the lease, I'm doomed."
Are you paying the rent under your own name? If so, don't they know that you're living there, especially since at once point your former roommate asked to be taken off the lease? I'm a little confused, are there other roommates who ARE on the lease, just not you?
One possible reaction from the management company is the common-sense option: you're already a perfectly good tenant and the path of least resistance is to just take him off the lease and put you on the lease, presuming you now pass a credit check with an acceptable score. If there are other roommates, this is probably a pretty good bet.
However, if there are not other roommates, and the only person with whom they had a legal agreement left three years ago? Well, the good news is that they would be very unlikely to evict you immediately -- that's a WHOLE lot of trouble and expense for them for no good reason. However, a totally commonsense option from a business standpoint would be to let you ride out the current lease-year (presuming this is a yearly lease that's been auto-renewing) but then put the apartment on the market for a new tenant at the current market rate. Even if they do accept you as the new tenant (which they very well may because again, path of least resistance) you should be prepared to accept a rent hike if market prices have gone up.
P.S. Absolutely do not confess to the management company that you weren't on the lease originally because of unstable finances at the time. If it states outright that everyone residing at the address is required to be on the lease, say that you didn't realize this when you moved in with your friend.
posted by desuetude at 9:08 AM on January 24, 2019
You definitely want to consider your local laws regarding tenancy and consider what the rental market is like in your area before you out yourself.
For example, in my region a tenant adding someone new to a lease as a sublettor or assigning the lease to someone new requires the consent of the landlord. The landlord can't "unreasonably" refuse a sublet/assignment, but things like the prospective tenant having an unsatisfactory credit or background check, or even just an existing waiting list of prospective tenants for the building, are considered reasonable grounds for withholding consent. Additionally, in my region, we have rent control on most private rentals. When rental markets are tight (my city currently has a 0.6% vacancy rate, the second lowest in the entire country) and rents are skyrocketing, landlords are going to prefer to sign brand new leases at higher rents rather than assign an old lease to a new tenant at the previous rent-controlled rate. Here landlords who become aware of unauthorized sublets/assignments have 60 days to apply to terminate the tenancy, after which they are considered to have accepted the "new" tenant.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 11:01 AM on January 24, 2019
For example, in my region a tenant adding someone new to a lease as a sublettor or assigning the lease to someone new requires the consent of the landlord. The landlord can't "unreasonably" refuse a sublet/assignment, but things like the prospective tenant having an unsatisfactory credit or background check, or even just an existing waiting list of prospective tenants for the building, are considered reasonable grounds for withholding consent. Additionally, in my region, we have rent control on most private rentals. When rental markets are tight (my city currently has a 0.6% vacancy rate, the second lowest in the entire country) and rents are skyrocketing, landlords are going to prefer to sign brand new leases at higher rents rather than assign an old lease to a new tenant at the previous rent-controlled rate. Here landlords who become aware of unauthorized sublets/assignments have 60 days to apply to terminate the tenancy, after which they are considered to have accepted the "new" tenant.
posted by Secret Sparrow at 11:01 AM on January 24, 2019
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In my jurisdiction, if they've accepted rent from you (like the check has your name on it), they've basically created a waiver of the lease and accepted you as a tenant (so they can't kick you out as an unauthorized occupant.)
posted by vespabelle at 4:18 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]