To add a tenant to a lease, you need written approval from your landlord, a completed screening of the new person, and a signed lease amendment (or replacement lease) that the landlord, every existing tenant, and the new tenant all sign. Skip any of those pieces and the new roommate is an unauthorized occupant, which puts everyone named on the lease at risk of a violation notice or eviction.
Start With Your Current Lease
Pull the lease and read the clauses on additional occupants, subletting, and landlord approval for tenancy changes. Almost every standard lease requires written consent before someone new moves in. Most also set occupancy limits tied to bedroom count or square footage, and exceeding those limits can be treated as a breach even when the landlord would otherwise approve the person.
Check the guest policy too. Leases usually define the point where a guest becomes an occupant. A common cutoff is 10 to 14 consecutive nights, or a cumulative number of days inside a six-month window. If the person you want to add has already been staying over regularly, start the formal process now rather than waiting for the landlord to raise it.
Ask the Landlord in Writing
Send a written request that names the person, explains why they’re moving in, and offers your cooperation with screening. Landlords have the right to approve or deny new tenants based on reasonable criteria like income, credit history, and rental background, and most leases spell that out.
If the landlord says no, your options depend on the lease language and local law. Some leases say consent “shall not be unreasonably withheld,” which can limit a denial that has no stated basis or rests on a protected characteristic. A denial grounded in a failed background check or insufficient income is generally within the landlord’s rights. Moving someone in over the landlord’s objection is a direct path to an eviction filing.
The New Person Goes Through Screening
Expect the prospective tenant to be screened the same way any new applicant would be. Landlords typically review credit history, criminal background, employment and income, and past rental behavior like evictions or missed payments.1Federal Trade Commission. Tenant Background Checks and Your Rights The applicant provides full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, current and prior addresses, and employer information.
Application fees usually run $20 to $50, though the exact amount and whether there’s a legal cap depends on the jurisdiction. The new tenant generally pays this fee.
If the Screening Comes Back Negative
When a landlord denies someone based on a credit report or background check, federal law requires an adverse action notice. The notice must identify the screening company, state that the company didn’t make the decision, and explain the applicant’s right to request a free copy of the report within 60 days and dispute inaccurate information.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 – Section 1681m If a credit score drove the decision, the landlord must also disclose the score and the key factors behind it.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
Tenant screening reports are often error-prone, so if the denial rests on bad data, the applicant can dispute it directly with the screening company and reapply.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do if My Rental Application Is Denied Because of a Tenant Screening Report
Where Fair Housing Law Limits the Landlord
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the terms or conditions of a rental based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – Section 3604 That applies directly when you’re adding someone. A landlord can’t refuse because the new person is a child, because a tenant is pregnant, or because the addition turns an “adult-only” unit into a family household.
Occupancy limits are allowed but have to be reasonable. HUD’s longstanding guidance treats two people per bedroom as generally reasonable, with flexibility for bedroom size, unit layout, the ages of any children, and whether there’s a den or extra room.6Department of Housing and Urban Development. Keating Memo on Occupancy Standards An occupancy policy stricter than the local housing code is a fair housing red flag. Charging higher rent, extra fees, or a bigger deposit because a household includes children also violates the Act.
If the new person is a live-in aide for a tenant with a disability, allowing the aide is a form of reasonable accommodation and the landlord is generally required to permit it.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – Section 3604 The landlord can verify that the aide is needed but can’t demand medical records or a full medical examination.
Put the Change in Writing
Once the landlord approves the new person, formalize it. The two usual options are a lease amendment (sometimes called an addendum) to the existing lease, or a brand new lease that replaces the original.
An amendment is the simpler route when the only change is adding someone. At a minimum it should include:
- The original lease date and property address, so the amendment ties cleanly to the right agreement.
- Names of all parties: the landlord, every existing tenant, and the new tenant.
- The effective date when the new tenant’s rights and obligations start.
- Any financial adjustments, including changes to rent or the security deposit.
- A statement that all other lease terms remain unchanged.
- Signature lines for the landlord, every current tenant, and the new tenant.
A new lease makes more sense when the landlord wants to update multiple terms at once, like extending the term or adjusting rent significantly. The tradeoff is that every provision becomes open for renegotiation. If you’re happy with the current terms, an amendment preserves them more cleanly.
Security Deposit
Adding a tenant often prompts a conversation about the deposit. The landlord may ask the new tenant for an additional amount, or the new tenant may reimburse the existing tenants for a share of the deposit already on file. However you handle it, document the arrangement in the amendment so there’s a clear paper trail when someone eventually moves out. Many jurisdictions cap total deposits at one or two months’ rent, and the landlord can’t use the addition as a reason to exceed those caps.
What Every Existing Tenant Takes On
Most multi-tenant leases include a joint and several liability clause, and if yours doesn’t, the landlord will likely add one when a new tenant joins. Under that clause, each tenant is individually responsible for the full rent and any lease violations, not just their share. If one roommate stops paying, the landlord can pursue any or all of the others for the full balance and has no obligation to sort out who owes what internally.
Before you add anyone, every existing tenant should understand they’re vouching for this person financially. A separate written agreement among roommates about splitting rent and expenses is a smart move, but it doesn’t change what the landlord can enforce.
If Someone Is Leaving at the Same Time
When one person is moving out as another moves in, a single amendment can handle both. It should name the tenant being removed, the tenant being added, and the effective date of the swap.
The detail that matters most is the release. Without explicit language stating that the landlord releases the departing tenant from future obligations, the original tenant can remain liable for rent and damages through the rest of the lease term even after they’ve moved out. Landlords aren’t required to grant a release, so this is a negotiation point. If the landlord refuses, the departing tenant stays on the hook until the lease ends.
Signing and Keeping Copies
Every party has to sign: the landlord, all existing tenants, and the new tenant. A signature from just the landlord and the new person isn’t enough when other tenants are still on the original lease; their consent to the changed terms is part of what makes the amendment enforceable.
Each person should get a complete signed copy and store it somewhere they can actually find it later. The original lease and the amendment together form the full agreement, so hang onto both. If a dispute surfaces months later, the signed documents are what will decide it.
Adding a Tenant Is Not the Same as Subletting
These are different arrangements. Adding a tenant makes the new person a co-tenant with a direct legal relationship to the landlord, full rights under tenant protection laws, and shared liability under the lease. Subletting is a separate agreement between the original tenant and the subtenant; the landlord typically has no direct relationship with the subtenant, and the original tenant remains solely responsible to the landlord.
Adding a tenant fits a long-term roommate situation. Subletting fits a temporary arrangement, like covering a few months while you’re away. If you’re not sure which your lease allows, look for separate clauses on each. A lease that bars subletting may still permit adding a tenant with approval, and the reverse is also common.