Submitted by avi on Thu, 06/23/2011 - 01:37
I have a signed lease for a 1BR apartment with a very picky landlord/management company. I am getting married in the middle of my lease and would like to move my new spouse in.
She does, however, have bad credit.
Can my landlord refuse my spouse to move in based on her bad credit report?
The landlord says that according to Mass.Law ALL residents must be on the lease and to add someone to the lease, one must have a good credit report and his approval.
I noticed that in New York City, a landlord is "obligated" to add spouse to the lease (http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/faq/roommates.html#name), does Boston or Mass have a similar law?
Thank you.
Avi
Adding spouse to lease
I'm not sure what the landlord is talking about or what law they are referring to. The key issue, I would think, is whether the landlord can prevent a spouse from moving in to your unit. I do not believe the landlord cannot prevent a spouse from moving into a rental unit unless having two people live in the unit would violate the housing and sanitation code. Under the code, square footage determines how many can live in an apartment. Your lease, however, may contain language that will allow the landlord to increase the rent by a predetermined amount for every new person that moves into the unit.