Unauthorized occupants: Can I get in trouble for letting someone live in my rental?

Should I read this?

Yes, if you rent the place where you live in Washington State, you should read this if you are thinking about letting someone else live with you. You must follow additional rules before that person moves in. Otherwise, you could face eviction yourself.

If you have a voucher or live in subsidized housing, you could also lose your rental subsidy if you don't follow the proper procedure for letting someone move in with you.

Examples:

• Your significant other has their own place but often stays overnight with you, usually 3 nights a week. You decide to make this permanent and let your significant other move in with you.

• A friend lost their housing. You let them couch-surf in your rental until they find a new place. It has been a few weeks. It looks like they won't find a new place soon.

• You're having a hard time paying rent. You want to get a roommate to help split the costs.

• You have a disability. You ask your adult child to move in with you to help you around the rental home.

Yes, if you rent a mobile home or trailer from the landlord. For example, you do not own the mobile home. You rent it from the landlord. The landlord rents lot space from a mobile home park.

No, if you own the mobile home you live in, and rent the lot. You still need the mobile home park's approval before someone new moves in, but the rules are different. Read Tenant Rights under the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act to learn more.

You will learn what to do if you want someone to move in with you, what to do if someone stays overnight a lot, and where to get legal help.

• Carefully review your lease. You probably need the landlord's written permission before the person moves in. If the landlord does not approve your request before the person moves in, you may be breaking the rules in your lease. The person is an unauthorized occupant, and you could face eviction for a material lease violation. Read My landlord just gave me a 10-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate to learn more.

• Ask the landlord in writing to add a tenant to or approve another occupant on your lease. The person may have to do a background check or credit check before the landlord will approve them. If the person pays for the background check, they have additional rights when tenant-screening. Read Tenant Screening: Your Rights to learn more.

*Warning! If you must report your income every year to your landlord, you must also report the change in your household income before you have someone move in with you. This is especially true if you qualify to live in the building or your calculated portion of rent will be affected by adding someone to your lease. This may change how much monthly rent you pay.

Tenant: Generally, a tenant must be at least 18 years old. Anyone you add to your lease as a co-tenant is responsible for paying rent. If either of you do not pay rent, you are "jointly and severally liable" for the total rent. This means you must pay the total amount of rent even if the other person does not pay. The person you add to your lease as a co-tenant has equal rights to stay. You can only remove them from the lease if they agree to it or if you are in subsidized housing and you've been a victim of domestic violence.

Occupant: Anyone added to your lease as an authorized occupant has been approved by the landlord to live there with you. This may include any children or dependents. The authorized occupant is not responsible for paying rent. If you end your lease, the occupant usually can only stay if they've lived there for more than 6 months. If they want to take over the lease after you move out, the landlord must give them a 30-day notice to apply to take over the lease. Read My landlord just gave me a 30-Day Notice to learn more.

You still need ­the landlord's written permission to add the child to the lease as an authorized occupant. For example, if you recently had a baby, you should let the landlord know once the baby is born.

If you report your income every year to the Housing Authority, this section applies to you.

• You must get the landlord's approval and the Housing Authority's permission to add someone to your voucher or tenancy. This can be complicated. Talk with your Housing Authority advocate to understand everything you must do before this person moves in. If you make a mistake or miss a step, you risk losing your voucher or HUD housing.

• You must also report the change in your household income. Your portion of rent is based on everyone living with you. The new person's financial resources must be reviewed to decide how much monthly rent your household will pay going forward.

• If you do not timely report this new person's income, you may owe extra money called an "overpayment."  You may lose your voucher/HUD housing. Or you may have to pay extra rent for the months you failed to report, which may also put you at risk of an eviction.

• If you get a notice to terminate your voucher payments or HUD housing, ask the Housing Authority in writing within 10 days of the date on the notice for an informal grievance hearing.  And talk to a lawyer right away. Read Protecting your Section 8 Voucher and HUD Housing Evictions to learn more.

Tenants may generally have guests stay overnight, but carefully review your lease. See how many overnight stays you can have in one calendar year. If you plan for your guest to stay longer, you may need your landlord's written approval beforehand. If your lease is unclear, clarify the policy in writing with your landlord before your guest comes to stay.

Generally, if the person stays for 14 days or more in one month, they are considered an unauthorized occupant. This is a material lease violation. You could be evicted for it. Read My landlord just gave me a 10-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate to learn more.

*Warning! Subsidized and HUD housing have even stricter rules for guest overnight stays. Generally, you may only have guests stay overnight 14 days total in a calendar year, not 14 days in a row or each month.  If you want guests to stay overnight for longer, get the residential manager's or Housing Authority's written approval before you guests stay that long.

Probably. The landlord may still view them as an unauthorized occupant, especially if they stay overnight for 14 days or longer. This is a material lease violation. You could be evicted for it. Read My landlord just gave me a 10-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate to learn more.

However, a guest who visits frequently but doesn't stay overnight is not an unauthorized occupant. (For example, your significant other comes over for dinner every day but goes home to their apartment to sleep at night.)  If your landlord voices concern about this guest, clarify in writing and give proof that they live elsewhere. Read How to interact with your landlord to avoid legal trouble to learn more.

You must make a written request for reasonable accommodation to be approved before your family member moves in. You must add them to your lease as an authorized occupant. Then they can live in the home and take care of you.

Under the federal Fair Housing Act and the Washington State Law Against Discrimination, disabled tenants may ask in writing for reasonable accommodations that let them enjoy their tenancy the same as tenants who do not have disabilities.  A change to a landlord's rule or practice can be a reasonable accommodation.

The landlord may ask for proof of your disability, like a doctor's note about your diagnosis and how the accommodation would help your disability.  If your disability is visually obvious (for example, you use a wheelchair and cannot walk on your own), you don't need to give additional proof. If reasonable, the landlord must approve your request. Read How to request a disability accommodation as a tenant to learn more.

If you have a Section 8 voucher or live in other subsidized housing, make a written request for a reasonable accommodation to the Housing Authority. If the Housing Authority approves your family member as a caregiver, they may be able to live with you without affecting your portion of monthly rent. Ask your Housing Authority advocate for more information about rules for caregivers. If your family member moves in before you get written approval, it may put your voucher or subsidized housing at risk.

You need written permission from both the trailer or mobile home's owner and the mobile home park before someone moves in with you. The person needs permission to live in both the mobile home and on the land.

If you do not get approval for both, you are breaking a material rule in your lease with the landlord for the mobile home or the lease with the mobile home park.  The person may be a trespasser in the park without park permission to be there. They could be arrested and you could face eviction. Read My manufactured/mobile home park landlord just gave me a 20-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate and My landlord just gave me a 10-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate to learn more.  

• Landlords may not understand the laws on mobile home parks and their rules.

• The mobile home park may require your new occupant to do background checks. The mobile home park may charge a fee for the background check and application with the park.

If you were never approved as a tenant with the mobile home park, you might be an unauthorized occupant in the mobile home park and could be evicted. This issue is complicated. Try to talk to a lawyer.

Maybe. Carefully review your lease. It may not let you rent to others (sublease) any part of your rental without the landlord's written pre-approval.

If you rent out your place without the landlord's approval before you list it as a short-term rental, you may be breaking the rules in your lease. You could face eviction for a material lease violation.

Read My landlord just gave me a 10-Day Notice to Comply or Vacate to learn more.