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When Should I Change or Update the Tenants Listed on a Current Lease?

Signing a Lease Agreement for a Newport Rental PropertyLife oftentimes brings about numerous unforeseen changes, and with tenants, there’s not much difference. The list of occupants or leasees on the lease for your rental property in Newport should reflect any relevant event that your tenants go through. Divorce, death, and adding or changing a roommate or family member are all events that should cause the list to be updated. For the good of both property owners and tenants, it is important to have an accurate count of all tenants and occupants in every rental home.

Lease management is an important element of single-family rental property ownership. As a binding contract, the lease should clearly explain all of the terms and responsibilities of both the tenants and the landlord or property owner. A lease should clearly list down the names of the tenants and other people living in the rental home. For this reason, when renting a house, a property owner accepts a certain degree of liability for both the property and the occupants.

In the event an unauthorized resident damages the property, the landlord may only be permitted to hold the persons who signed the lease responsible. The same condition goes for collecting rent. When there are adult residents in the house who are not listed on the lease and the tenants fail to pay rent, the landlord cannot collect from those that are not recorded on the lease.

There are various grounds that would require an update to the tenant list on a lease. Among the most common of these are situations involving the death or divorce of a tenant. In most instances, the remaining tenant may desire to stay in the rental house. If this is so, the lease should be updated to reflect the actual responsible parties. In this situation, a landlord can require the remaining tenant to re-qualify for the house based on their sole income and circumstances.

Some other usual occurrence that necessitate a lease update is marriage or any additions to the household. In principle, any adult living in the rental home should be a listed party on the lease. This involves family members as well as authorized roommates. Landlords ought to explain clearly to their tenants that all residents must be approved before moving in, and must also notify the landlord if and when they move out. When an adult moves in with an existing tenant or if one moves out leaving other tenants behind, the lease should be altered to show the updates. If the lease in question is a long-term contract, the landlord may prepare an addendum. There would be no need to re-draft a new lease. The addendum would merely state the name of the tenants planning to occupy the house.

Since tenant changes will differ broadly, as will the laws that govern who should be indicated on the lease, it is significant to review every situation individually. Monitoring your rental properties closely, along with the tenants, is a labor-intensive task. For this very reason, employing Real Property Management Delta may prove to be very useful. We help Newport property owners with lease and tenant management, including any necessary lease changes. Contact us or call us at 501-404-0674 for more information.

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