In cases where we have two or more tenants listed jointly on a lease, we sometimes get a request to remove one of the tenants with the remaining tenant(s) staying on.
Usually the process is started by one of the tenants contacting their property manager to inquire into the process. This sometimes is the tenant wanting to be removed and other times it’s one of the other tenants who wants to stay and have one of the others removed.
We’ve seen the reasons for this run the gamut. Many times it’s due to the separation or divorce of domestic partners and one of them is going to go their own way. It can be friends who are roommates who find themselves better friends when living apart than when living together.
Other times it’s not so much a negative situation between the tenants but instead one of friend roommates is getting more serious with a non-roommate partner and wants to move in with, or get married to, their partner.
Regardless of the reason, removing someone from the lease unfortunately isn’t a quick, cut and dry, situation like many of our inquiring tenants think it is, and we evaluate each request on a case-by-case basis.
If you’re reading this, there is a good chance you’re one of our tenants who either found this post on your own, or we directed you to it to learn about the process. Without knowing the specific circumstances, we have listed the 3 primary scenarios most of these situations fall under and how we handle each:
If the remaining tenant(s) on the lease can qualify to rent the property without the credit & income of the tenant being removed, we can execute a new lease with the remaining person(s). There is a $200 lease modification fee that will be assessed and must be paid in advance of a new lease being drafted
Additionally, the person being removed has to sign a written statement that they waive all rights to the security deposit we are currently holding and that they have no expectation of us (Integrity Realty & Management) to refund or account for any portion of the deposit to them, now or in the future when the remaining person(s) move.
If the remaining tenant(s) cannot qualify to rent the property without the credit & income of the tenant being removed, we cannot remove the tenant from the lease and they must stay on as a guarantor. Whether they chose to still move out or not is irrelevant to them staying on the lease. This means that if they choose to move out and rent is not paid by the remaining tenant(s), we have to file eviction against all names on the lease including the tenant who already vacated.
Additionally they are submitted to collections for any unpaid balances regardless of if they vacated.
It’s the same as if you purchase a home and your name is on the loan. Simply moving out would not remove you from being a guarantor on a mortgage note, and the same goes for the lease. As long the remaining tenant(s) continue paying and honoring the terms of the lease, it won’t affect the tenant who moved.
Sometimes the situation may be that one tenant wants to move out and the remaining tenant(s) wants to replace them with a new resident. It could be because, like in Scenario 2, the remaining tenants can’t afford the place without having another roommate to help with expenses. Or they simply want to have another roommate for whatever reason.
Either way, a new roommate can’t be added without 1. the consent of all parties (that includes all current tenants including the one moving, and the landlord) and 2. the new roommate submitting an application to rent, submitting to landlord’s background screening, and subsequently being approved by landlord.
If the new roommate is approved by the landlord and all parties agree to the tenant replacement a few things will happen.
The new lease will include an acknowledgement that the new tenant is joining an existing tenancy/occupancy and that the landlord is not completing an updated move-in condition inspection since the property hasn’t been vacated fully to do that kind of inspection. Therefore the new tenant is held to the property condition standard as documented with the tenancy/occupancy originally began by the other roommates they are moving in with. This means that if any damages were done to the property prior to the new tenant moving in and they are still existing when everyone eventually moves out in the future, the landlord will claim the damages against all of the tenants currently on the lease at the time of full vacancy.
The last scenario deals with domestic abuse and needing to either remove the abuser or remove the abusee. Either case is highly complex and there are Colorado laws in place to protect abused individuals rights as they pertain to the lease in that case. If you are in this situation, we advise you to immediately call your property manager to go over your options.
If you have any other questions or feel you have a scenario not covered here, please contact your property manager or call our office at (303) 847-0130 so we can work through it with you.
Ben Parham is the President and Managing Real Estate Broker of Integrity Realty & Management, Inc., a cutting edge real estate sales and property management brokerage operating throughout the Greater Denver Area. Ben also served as the 2018 President of the Denver Chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and has served as a NARPM National Southwest RVP Ambassador. Ben is a U.S. Navy veteran where he served as a Cryptologic Technician (Technical) and was awarded the Joint Service Achievement Medal, two Navy Achievement Medals, and a Good Conduct Medal. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is licensed as a real estate broker in both Colorado and Florida.
