AmI a legal tenant if my name is not on the lease but I signed it?
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AmI a legal tenant if my name is not on the lease but I signed it?
There are 4 of us in house. While reading through my lease, I saw that the landlord states that the agreement is between he and roommate A. Although at the end of the lease, there were 4 of our signatures. So is roommate A a legal tenant? Are roommates B, C, D not legal tenants?
Asked on February 13, 2012 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
All four of you are most likely bound by the lease, and hence tenants. When there is a discrepancy or ambiguity in a contract (which is what a lease is: a contract), it will be construed in line with the parties' evident intention. If the four of signed the lease, all of you live in the house, and presumably, you all have paid rent and/or part of the security deposit, it is clear that you and the landlord all intended that the four of you would be tenants. The error in the paragraph stating whom the lease is between would not override the clearly expressed intent of the parties.
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