Having a Cosigner on Your Lease: What You Need to Know

A landlord can require a cosigner, also called a guarantor, when you do not meet its income, credit, or rental-history standards, as long as the requirement is not based on a protected trait such as race, disability, or having children, and it follows local rules such as New York City's limits on requiring guarantors from voucher holders. Your cosigner promises to pay whatever you owe under the lease, including unpaid rent and damage, and that promise can carry into renewals if the guaranty says so. It usually lasts until the guaranty's own end date, a limit in state law, or a written release from the landlord.

When can a landlord require a cosigner?

Landlords set their own screening standards, and asking for a guarantor is a common answer when an applicant has a short rental history or not enough income. Texas State University's Attorney for Students reports that most apartment complexes in San Marcos, Texas, require one in that situation. Three sets of rules apply:

• Equal treatment. The federal Fair Housing Act bars landlords from setting different terms or conditions for a rental because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability. Requiring a guarantor from a family with children, or from an applicant with a disability, while waiving it for other applicants with the same income and credit can violate the Act.
• A notice when a report is the reason. The Federal Trade Commission treats a co-signer requirement based on a credit or tenant screening report as an "adverse action," the same as a denial. The landlord must give you a notice that names the company that supplied the report, says that company did not make the decision, and explains your right to a free copy of the report if you ask within 60 days and to dispute inaccurate information. Our guide to your rights during tenant screening explains how to dispute errors.
• Rental assistance. New York City's Commission on Human Rights says that when a voucher program sets your share of the rent based on your income, a landlord may not add income requirements or require a guarantor or co-signer, with narrow exceptions for some owner-occupied buildings. In California, a landlord screening an applicant with a government rent subsidy must base its income standard on the part of the rent the tenant will pay, and must let the applicant prove creditworthiness with other records, such as benefit statements, pay records, or bank statements.

Line up your guarantor before you sign. Texas State's Attorney for Students warns that if a landlord rejects your guarantor after you have signed, it could refuse to let you move in and still hold you to the rent until you provide one it accepts. See our guide to the rental application process for the rest of the application.

Is a cosigner the same as a guarantor?

The label matters less than the document your cosigner signs:

• Signing the lease as a tenant. California's tenant guide treats everyone a lease names as a tenant as a co-tenant with a shared right to live in the unit. A cosigner listed that way is a full tenant who owes the rent with you.
• Signing a separate guaranty. Penn State's student affairs office describes a guarantor as someone who guarantees that the lease obligations will be paid, by signing a guaranty agreement. A guarantor who is not named as a tenant gets no right to live in the unit.

The rest of this page uses "guarantor" for a cosigner who signs a guaranty.

What your guarantor owes, and for how long

Penn State's guarantor sheet says guarantors are liable for the same financial obligations as the tenant, including any joint and several liability in the lease, and that landlords do hold guarantors responsible for unpaid amounts. That covers unpaid rent and charges such as damage the tenant causes, and it can reach past your own share:

• On a joint lease, a guarantor can be asked to pay for your roommates too. On a three-person joint lease at $3,000 a month, a parent who guaranteed the lease could be asked for the full $3,000 if all three roommates stop paying, even though their child's share is $1,000. See our comparison of joint and individual leases.
• If you break the lease, your guarantor can be held to what the lease says you owe for leaving early. Our guide to breaking a lease early covers those costs.
• If the debt goes unpaid, Penn State warns that it can hurt the guarantor's credit, and that a landlord with a court judgment against the guarantor can collect from assets such as a home, bank account, or vehicle, subject to state and federal exemptions that protect certain property and funds from collection.

The guaranty sets the length. Some cover only the lease being signed. Penn State notes that others also cover renewals and extensions, which, where enforceable, can keep a guarantor responsible for more than one year without signing anything new. Before signing, your guarantor should look for the words "renewal," "extension," and "holdover" (a tenant staying after the lease ends) and ask the landlord to strike any they do not accept. For the lease clauses themselves, see our guide to understanding your lease terms.

Texas sets a default by law. Under Texas Property Code section 92.021, a guarantor who is not a tenant is liable only for the original lease term unless the original lease states the last date on which a renewal can extend the guaranty. Even then, the guaranty covers a renewal only if the renewal has the same parties and does not raise the guarantor's potential rent obligation, though a guarantor can agree to a higher rent in a separate signed document at renewal. The Texas limit does not cancel the guarantor's responsibility for costs that come due later but stem from the tenant's actions during the covered period, or from a tenant who refuses to move out.

Alternatives if you do not have a cosigner

• A larger security deposit. Texas State's Attorney for Students notes that students may be able to pay a larger deposit instead of finding a guarantor. State caps limit this: New York allows a deposit of no more than one month's rent, and California allows one month's rent for most landlords, or two months' rent for small landlords (individuals, or LLCs owned by individuals, that own and rent no more than two properties with no more than four units in total).
• A co-applicant with income. Applying with a roommate whose income counts toward the landlord's standard can make a guarantor unnecessary. In California, a landlord that lets married couples combine their incomes to qualify must let unmarried applicants, such as roommates, combine theirs the same way.
• A guarantor company. If your landlord accepts a company that guarantees leases for a fee, get the fee, any refund terms, and the repayment terms in writing before you pay. The company is still a guarantor, and a guarantor that pays your debt can generally make you repay it: California Civil Code section 2847, for example, requires the person whose debt was paid to reimburse the guarantor, including necessary costs.
• Other proof that you can pay. Ask whether the landlord will accept savings statements, a job offer letter, or several months of bank records in place of a guarantor, and get any agreement in writing.

How to remove a cosigner

1. Read the guaranty's end terms. Check whether it ends with the current lease, covers renewals, or names a cutoff date. In Texas, it ends with the original term unless the lease set a renewal cutoff as described above.
2. Ask before you renew, in writing. Send the landlord a request to release your guarantor before you sign a renewal, with evidence that you now meet its standards, such as recent pay stubs, a current credit report, and your record of on-time rent.
3. Get the release signed. Ask for a written release of the guaranty signed by the landlord, or a renewal lease that states no guaranty applies. The release should say whether the guarantor still owes anything from the period before it.
4. If the landlord says no, the guaranty stays in force as written. Your choices are to keep it, replace it with a deposit or a guarantor company the landlord accepts, or move when the lease ends.