When living in a rented housing unit, your rights with respect to your landlord may vary based on your legal status. Specifically, whether you qualify as an occupant or tenant of your unit. Here are six key differences between being an occupant versus being a tenant:
What is a tenant?
A tenant is a person or entity who temporarily occupies or possesses real estate that belongs to a landlord.
What is an occupant?
An occupant is a person living in or using a premise or property as a tenant or owner or someone who has occupancy of a premise or property. An occupant can become a tenant if they choose to include their name on the lease of the property.
Tenants have a contractual relationship with the landlord
The occupant of an apartment, legally speaking, is a stranger to the landlord. The occupant has no contract tying them to the owner of the property on which they are residing. In contrast, the tenant has entered into a contractual relationship with the landlord. This contract often imposes responsibility on the tenant to pay rent every month, as well as any additional monthly charges provided for in the lease agreement.
Occupants are not always authorized
A tenant’s contractual relationship with the landlord means that they are permitted to be there. A renter, for example, exchanges their rental payment for the right to remain in the unit. In contrast, occupants may or may not be authorized. For example, if a renter lists an additional person on their lease but does not include them as a co-tenant, that person is considered a legal occupant. In contrast, a person who lives in that apartment who does not have their name on the lease and has not otherwise gotten permission from the landlord to reside there is an unauthorized occupant.
Tenants have the right to occupy
An occupant is under no contractual relationship with the landlord and thus is at their mercy with respect to how the landlord treats their presence on the landlord’s property. There is no due process needed with respect to their eviction. The tenant, however, has signed a contract with the landlord, thus giving the tenant the right to occupy the premises within the constraints of the lease agreement. This means that
Tenants have the duty to maintain
An occupant, by virtue of having no contractual relationship with the landlord, has no obligation to otherwise maintain the premises. The occupant cannot damage the premises at his discretion, as he is still responsible to the landlord with respect to any damages caused to the property. However, the occupant has no duty to maintain upkeep on the premises. The tenant, in contrast, by virtue of the contractual relationship with the landlord, has a legal duty to maintain the premises in good and clean condition. The tenant may be assigned additional maintenance obligations per the lease agreement.
Tenants are legally liable for paying rent
The tenant is the one with their name on the lease. If the tenant is delinquent on rent payments for a sufficient period of time, the landlord may legally pursue them for back rent pay. While an authorized occupant can enter into a voluntary relationship with a tenant to pay a portion of the rent, there is no legal obligation for them to do so. The landlord cannot otherwise pursue the occupant for not paying rent.
Tenants have rights under their lease
The tenant, by virtue of being in a contractual relationship with the landlord, is allowed to take legal action against the landlord using their lease if they violate the terms of that lease. In contrast, an occupant, authorized or not, has no legal standing to sue the landlord under the terms of the lease agreement. This even extends to occupants who have been listed on the lease.
In addition, fair-housing act protections apply to tenants but not to occupants. The Fair Housing Act is a federal law preventing discrimination in housing and in the rental market.
One Important Similarity
The key thing to note about both tenants and occupants is that they both are non-owner residents of a property.
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