Can You Rent to a Minor?

You can, but a lease signed only by a minor is usually voidable, meaning the minor can cancel it and walk away from the remaining rent. To get a lease you can enforce, rent to a minor who is legally emancipated, or have a parent or other adult sign as a co-tenant or guarantor. The age of majority is 18 in every state except Alabama and Nebraska, where it is 19, and Mississippi, where it is 21, and all three of those states let 18-year-olds sign a binding lease.

Why is a lease with a minor risky?

A lease is a contract, and people under the age of majority generally lack full capacity to contract. In California, Family Code section 6701(b) generally prohibits an unemancipated minor from making a contract involving real property, including an ordinary lease. In Danger Panda, LLC v. Launiu, the court applied that restriction to a minor's capacity to enter a rental contract.

There is a narrow rule for necessities under California Family Code section 6712, but it applies only to otherwise-valid contracts. A minor cannot disaffirm (cancel) such a contract to pay the reasonable value of things needed for their own or their family's support if those things were actually provided and the minor was not under the care of a parent or guardian able to support them. This rule does not make a lease prohibited by section 6701(b) valid.

What age can sign a binding lease in each state?

In those three states, an applicant who is 18 or older can sign the same lease as any adult. Ask for the same ID you request from every applicant to confirm the date of birth.

When can a minor sign a lease on their own?

A minor can sign a lease you can enforce when state law gives them adult capacity. The common routes:

• Emancipation by a court. California treats an emancipated minor as an adult for entering a binding contract, and a court declaration of emancipation is one way to get there. In Texas, a court can remove the "disabilities of minority" for a resident who is 17, or 16 and living apart from their parents, and who is self-supporting. A general removal gives the minor an adult's capacity to contract. A removal for limited purposes may not cover a lease, so read the order.
• Marriage or military service. California treats a minor who has married or registered a domestic partnership, even if it later ended, or who is on active duty in the armed forces, as emancipated. In Nebraska, minority ends when a person under 19 marries.
• Youth housing laws. Missouri lets a 16- or 17-year-old who is homeless or a victim of domestic violence, who is self-supporting, and whose parent or guardian has consented to the minor living independently, make a housing contract that cannot be canceled because of age. This authority excludes minors under Children's Division supervision or juvenile court jurisdiction. Consent can be implied, for example when a parent has refused support or barred the minor from the home.

If a minor says they are emancipated, ask for a copy of the court order or other proof, check that the name and date match their ID, and keep a copy with the application.

How does a parent or guarantor make the lease enforceable?

When the applicant is under the age of majority and not emancipated, an adult has to carry the obligation. Two ways to set it up:

1. Make the adult a co-tenant. The parent signs the lease as a tenant, alongside the minor or with the minor listed as an occupant. The parent's own promise to pay does not depend on the minor's capacity, which makes this the stronger option. How shared liability works is covered in signing a lease with more than one person.
2. Use a written guarantee. The adult signs a separate guarantee promising to pay rent and damages if the tenant does not. If you rely on a guarantee alone, confirm with a local attorney that it stays enforceable in your state if the minor cancels the lease.

Either way, screen the adult the same way you screen any applicant, using your standard rental application form and the written criteria described in the qualities that make a good tenant. The adult's income and credit carry the lease, so apply your normal standards to them.

A minor who simply lives with a parent who signed the lease does not sign anything. They are an occupant, and the parent owes the rent; see whether occupants are responsible for paying rent. Turning away a parent because the household includes children is a separate fair housing issue covered in what counts as unlawful discrimination in a rental application.