Two of my friends and I are going to rent an apartment while we are going to university and will all sign the lease. Does this mean we all have the same rights and obligations?

Yes. As roommates who are all signing the lease, you will each be bound by both the terms of the lease and the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act (as long as it is not a tenancy excluded by the Act, for example, where you share living facilities with your landlord).

Even if one of you moves out, he is still bound by the rules set out in the agreement, for example, the obligation to pay rent. To deal with this issue, the tenant who is leaving can ask to be taken off the tenancy agreement by his roommates and the landlord. This new agreement should be in writing and signed by everyone to avoid later difficulties.

It is more likely that if one tenant moves out without making a new agreement, the landlord will ask the other tenants to pay the rent, including the share of the person who has left. The landlord is able to do this because each tenant is liable for all the rent. It would be up to the remaining tenants to recover the rent from the tenant who has left.

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November 2004 More Renting a Place to Live FAQs:

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