Is our lease voidable from the tenants side if only 2 of the 3 tenants signed the lease?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Is our lease voidable from the tenants side if only 2 of the 3 tenants signed the lease?

2 possible tenants signed and submitted a lease while the 3rd did not sign and submit but is no longer going to live with us. Can our landlord still enforce the lease between the 2 tenants who submitted the lease?

Asked on August 3, 2011 Maryland

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

If two of the tenants signed, then the lease is most likely enforceable against them--they have agreed to the lease and accepted the offer to rent the premises.

The exception would be if something in the lease itself, or *possibly* in other corresondence (e.g. emails) made clear that the tenants would only agree to lease if all three of them signed. If there is such a term in the lease, it is clearly enforceable. If it's not in the lease but only in collateral or ancillary documents or correspondence, it might be possible to get a court to take cognizanze of it, but the odds are against it: the courts generally do not look beyond the four corners of the lease or contract, unless there is some ambiguity to resolve.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption