Question for Renters: Telling Landlord?

nmrd · November 2014

Hi, all,

For those who rent have you told your landlord you're pregnant? And are you planning to add your baby to your lease? Or S+TM's any experience with this?

I'm asking because right now we're month to month (by default b/c landlord never gave us a new lease when ours was up in spite of multiple conversations.) This is the best situation for us right now, so I'm worried that if I ask him if we need to add the baby then we'll end up locked into another year lease.

I don't know if infants are legally required to be listed on the lease in our state, so that's my main concern. I'm in the process of researching this issue but having trouble finding clear information and wondering if anyone already has experience with this.

Thanks in advance.

mommy101213 · November 2014

Following. I need to search into this in my state. We just started a year long lease in September. I only recently thought about this because our first water bill came and it's per person living in our home. I wonder if baby will increase that? Thanks for the reminder!

LindsayF24 · November 2014

We were renting an apartment when we had DS. There was no need to tell the landlord. He did not need to be added to the lease. The super knew I was pregnant and never said anything about it, other than "congrats." This was Manhattan, if that makes any difference. I don't know if laws vary by state, county, etc.

SheHulk723 · November 2014

I had no intention of telling my landlord, however, my landlord is my coworker, so it became apparent haha. Honestly, on a month to month lease I wouldn't want to mention it for fear of losing the lease.

SpaceGirlSpiff · November 2014

My landlord knows we're adding a second because he has been around lately and saw me and my belly, but I didn't seek him out to tell him specifically. He just said congrats.

First pregnancy (same landlord), I didn't tell him but he discovered it when he came to fix something and suddenly I had a baby...he just said congrats

As far as I know babies/children don't need to be added as occupants to a lease, I thought that was just 18+ ....and there may also be laws about number of people sharing a bedroom if that's an issue too, but not sure....and not sure if it varies by state.

But basically, yeah, my landlord doesn't care. We're month to month as well, he doesn't renew leases after the first initial year.

Might be a nice courtesy to let them know so they're aware of who lives there but... there's no reason to worry about it affecting a lease.

luckylady18 · November 2014

We told our landlord that I'm pregnant when he called to tell us he's selling the building. (grr). We are also on a month to month due to him not giving us a new lease when it was up. Landlord said congrats and that's about it!

I dont know the laws in your state - you'd have to research - but I cant imagine a requirement to add a minor onto a lease. They can't be held responsible for the rent. Maybe you want to tell them just so they know who is living in the apartment, but landlord-tenant laws tend to be very pro-tenant so I wouldn't worry too much.

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snowbaby1214 · November 2014

Only DH and I are on our lease, but we told our landlord about #4. He pays the water bill and we agreed to pay if it goes over a certain amount.

Aillise · November 2014

I'm hoping to be moved out in next few weeks, if not then really soon after LO arrives. My son was added to the lease about a year or 2 ago and he is 9 now. I do not plan on adding her to the lease but the management knows I am pregnant.

NSMF · November 2014

For my apartment they only required that we have a 2 bedroom (which we already have) instead of a one bedroom apartment when the baby came and when our lease came up again to list the baby as an occupant on the new lease.

LaBellaVida · November 2014

I wasn't planning on telling our land Lord. It never even crossed my mind to be honest.

WormyGo · November 2014

I never thought of this either. My husband isn't even on the lease, although our landlord clearly knows about him. I did a quick check and in our state spouses and dependent children basically don't count towards lease changes unless something is specifically written in. We do have a no more than 2 people per bedroom law in our city but that specifically applies to people who are not related.

nmrd · November 2014

saiven said:
We moved in September and I told the landlord when they came over to do the walk through. There wasn't any reason not to and the lease was signed.

In our state, you have to provide notice when a new person plans to "move in" to the house. That includes a newborn baby. They don't have to be on the lease but you are expected to let everyone know.

The law exists to prevent excessive subleasing and most people are fine with it. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

I'm not sure why you think adding a baby will mean changing your lease terms, but just indicate if it comes up that you're really enjoying being month to month and that's how you'd prefer to stay.

Thanks for the info! As far as the lease issue we're not currently on a lease. When our one year lease was almost up we asked him if he wanted us to sign another lease and he said yes. Then when our lease was officially up he still hadn't given us a new lease in spite of repeated reminders. So I asked him if he still wanted us to sign another lease or if he wanted to just defer to month to month (which is what he did with another tenant I talked to) and told him either way was fine with us. He said he still wanted us to sign another lease but now it is six months later and he still never gave us a new lease.

This is pretty consistent with his character--he is pretty passive, says he's going to do things and then just never does them, etc. From the tenant rights and rental laws I've read for our state this basically means that we can just stay without a current lease and keep the same rent and terms. Landlord just has to give us 30 days if he wants us to leave and vice versa. This is way better for us bc we don't know what our situation is going to be in the next year and aren't very happy with the landlord and building but it makes more financial sense to just stay here for now. So I fear if we revisit the lease issue he will want to set up specific dates, but I guess we could always see if he would be willing to write a month to month lease. I'm just doubtful and so would rather not bring up the issue at all unless it wil cause legal issues w having an unlisted tenant.

tl;dr We don't have a current lease so we can't just update it. We would rather avoid signing a new lease in case landlord takes as an opportunity to take us back off month to month or charge us more for being month to months rather than a longer term lease.

Edited for mobile typing fails!

nmrd · November 2014

luckylady18 said:
We told our landlord that I'm pregnant when he called to tell us he's selling the building. (grr). We are also on a month to month due to him not giving us a new lease when it was up. Landlord said congrats and that's about it!

I dont know the laws in your state - you'd have to research - but I cant imagine a requirement to add a minor onto a lease. They can't be held responsible for the rent. Maybe you want to tell them just so they know who is living in the apartment, but landlord-tenant laws tend to be very pro-tenant so I wouldn't worry too much.

@luckylady18, that's not fun news to get while pregnant, sorry! Is the landlord giving you much time to find a new place? Have you started looking? Hope it's all working out ok!

southernyankeegirl · November 2014

I'd just mail a baby announcement. You don't have to tell him before baby is born, and as there's no existing lease you aren't under an obligation to alert him. However, it will prevent him from thinking you are being sneaky about anything and without a conversation that would re-open the discussion of signing another lease, especially as he seems very passive!

stephchris0321 · November 2014

I don't think you need to put your LO on the lease because they are under 18. You might tell your landlord as a courtesy though.

leslieann3583 · November 2014

You should tell your landlord so they can be added to the lease, but as an occupant, not as a leaseholder for obvious reasons. It is important that the leases show all leaseholders and occupants in case of a disaster (fire, tornado, etc.). This should not affect your lease terms. HUD occupancy limits are 2 people per bedroom, but as long as your baby is in a crib, you and your SO can share a bedroom with baby, and you cannot be required to go to a 2 bedroom unit from a 1 bedroom. I've worked in property management 10+ years.

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