How write lease paid for by business for employee to occupy?

Question

We're hoping to rent a unit to an employee of a company- Basically, the company is assuming the costs of the rental and paying for it for their employee to stay in it. The lease we have isn't really written to accommodate this scenario- It has lines for the "tenant" to sign, but of course the company who's paying for it won't actually be the tenant/won't be living there.

How can we use the current lease to work with this scenario of having one person responsible for paying the lease while another person will be occupying the unit?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

There's nothing wrong with listing the company as "Tenant" but you should also list the individual(s) that actually reside in the unit. This happens with me several times a year. I typically have a responsible executive of the company (President, CEO, CFO, etc.) fill out the application and get approved. That puts them on the hook for whatever happens to the property. Then I require an application for any individual that will live in the unit. Approval is based on the company applicant; the individual occupants are simply screened for criminal and I want to make sure I have their contact information for any issues regarding the rental.

I hope that helps!

Henley H. · Answer

Hey @Nathan G., Thanks again for your insights! Much appreciated-

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I put the lease in the name of the company, signed by the CEO, CFO, or some other person of authority within the company. The actual occupants are listed in my "Occupancy" paragraph or I write it out near the end under Additional Provisions. The company is taking responsibility, so they should be the ones to sign.

Henley H. · Answer

@Nathan G., Thanks so much for the reply- very helpful!

Julie Hartman · Answer

@Henley H. Since you are in Wyoming, this may be a question for @Nathan G. but I would say they both need to sign. One of them is financially responsible but the other will have possession of the property and you also want them responsible. The other way you could do it is have a company rep sign the lease and have the "tenant' as an authorized occupant. As long as they have gone through your screening process the same way and you feel comfortable, you should be fine in either case. Perhaps someone else has a better idea for you but that is how I would do it.

Henley H. · Answer

@Julie Hartman Thanks, Julie! Appreciate your help-

Melanie P. · Answer

Is this a credit worthy corporation that's been around forever or a small business of some sort? Personally I'd put the lease the in the name of who is going to be living there because the lease confers possession and occupancy, the company will be taking neither. I would have an officer of the company sign a lease guaranty on behalf of the company. This allows you to pursue the company for any financial default which includes damages if not paid for on demand.

Amanda Thompson · Answer

I know this post is from 3 years ago, but for future viewers:

I searched the forum for this exact question! What I'm planning to do is write a lease as normal, but have the tenant and the rep from the company both sign it. The rep is acting as the guarantor on behalf of the company. I am also writing an addendum to attach to the lease that outlines the company is responsible for all costs associated with the lease (utilities, rent, etc) as well as liable for any costs of damages or lease violation fees.

Henley H. · Answer

@Nathan G., One follow up question from this post... Do you think it's alright to have the name of the employee who'll be occupying the unit on the lease under "tenant", but not actually have them sign the lease? The owner of the company is paying for everything and he'll sign the lease, but he doesn't want his employee to sign the lease, because that would make the employee equally financially responsible- The owner of the company says he can't ask his employee to sign the lease because it wouldn't be fair to the employee in the event he's fired, etc.  Ugh!

The owner of the company indicated this is how he typically does it (his company is listed on the lease and he signs, and the employee's name is just listed under "tenant"), but I've never rented to a company like this before...

Julie Hartman · Answer

I"m not a lawyer so take this for what you will but I would not worry too much about the word "Tenant" in your lease. If both parties sign, they are both equally responsible. You could even do a separate addendum stating only the employee will officially occupy the premises but both are financially responsible. You're mainly concerned about who to go after in the unlikely event something goes sideways. The company gives you deeper pockets to pick in that case.

How write lease paid for by business for employee to occupy?

Most Popular Reply