A landlord can ask for someone to co-sign your lease if they have reason to believe you cannot afford rent on your own. A landlord can refuse to rent to you if you don’t have a co-signer and can’t afford to rent on your own.

Be very cautious when agreeing to co-sign a lease. By law, you become responsible for the terms of the lease, including payment of rent. Even if the landlord could reasonably go after the tenant for missing money or damages, they can choose to go after you instead if they think there’s a better chance of getting their money back. If you want to get off a lease as a co-signer, you need permission from the landlord and the landlord will have to sign a new lease with the tenant. A co-signer cannot get out of a lease on their own.

A guarantor is someone who is not considered a tenant, but who takes financial responsibility for the lease in a similar way to a co-signer. A guarantor must sign a Guarantor Agreement in order to become financially liable for the lease.