Renting together
Often you rent a residence with someone else. It can be several people living together as roommates, a couple renting together, a partner renting from the other, or a family renting a residence.
There are different ways of renting together. One of the most important things to be aware of is who has entered into the contract with the landlord.
Do you have a joint contract, does everyone have their own separate contracts, or is it just one of the tenants that have a contract with the landlord? This can be of significance for what rights and obligations you have during the tenancy.
If two or more people rent together, i.e. have signed the contract together, the main rule is that you are responsible in solidarity with each other for the contract being fulfilled, meaning you have joint and shared liability (one for all, all for one).
What kind of responsibility do you have if you rent together?
Joint and shared responsibilty
Joint and shared responsibility (responsibility in solidarity) means that two or more people are responsible for the same financial obligation. In tenancy cases this means that the landlord can choose if he wants to put forth the claim against one of you, or if he wants more of you to pay. In such cases it will be up to the tenants themselves to settle the affairs amongst each other, after the landlord has pursued his claims.
Joint liability for unpaid rent and damages?
If you have joint liability this entails that if one of the tenants does not pay rent, the remaining tenants are responsible for paying the rent the initial tenant owes. This also applies for damages.
The tenant who has covered someone else's obligation can put forth a claim towards the tenant they covered the expenses for. A claim like this cannot be processed by the Rent Disputes Tribunal.
Pro rata liability
This means that tenants are responsible only for their own share of the obligations that follow from the agreement, and they are not responsible for each other. A responsibility like this must be specifically agreed upon. If it is not specifically agreed upon, joint liability applies.
