Can You Sign a Lease With More Than One Person?

Yes. It’s possible to sign a lease agreement with more than one tenant. In this case, the legal term is "co-tenants."

Please note that the situation of co-tenants is different from the situation of a tenant and their occupants.

Unlike tenants and occupants, co-tenants are jointly and severally liable for any obligation arising from the lease. Being joint and severally liable means that you as a landlord can pursue civil liabilities from all the co-tenants or from only one of them. In the case of collecting rent, you as a landlord can collect the full amount of the debt from all tenants ("joint"), or from one tenant alone (“several”). In other words, each co-tenant is individually responsible for the total amount of the rent. Having a clause like this in your lease protects you from being shorted on the rent if one tenant decides to break the contract and leave early.

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For these reasons, the situation of co-tenancy is significantly more convenient than in the case of a tenant living with occupants. It’s a good idea to ask every occupant over the age of 18 to sign the lease agreement. This makes them co-tenants and gives you the right to collect rent and pursue other legal claims from each of them.