Conditions for adding a second person (my wife-to-be) to the lease

For non-rent-regulated apartments, I'd say the landlord would be delighted to have more than one person to hold legally responsible in the event of nonpayment.

Am I missing something?

they cant charge you more if you are getting married and want to add your fiancee to the lease.

Why would you like to add her in the lease? Don't rent guidelines allow at least one non-relative to live on the premisis? Why would you need any special accomodation from the mgmt. company?

EZ Renter: I do not know whether I need to go through any formalities or not, hense I started this thread. I am perfectly happy to keep the lease in my name only, I just do not want the mgmt co on my back in case there is a requirement that I notify them.

Does the lease specifically state that only you can live in the apartment? If not, there is not much the leasing office can say unless you are putting more people into an apartment that it can "legally" hold.

csn: you make a good point; will check the lease.

There is no reason why you need your fiancee on the lease, the management company can't kick her out. However, have you thought through the visa issue? Is she coming on a work visa? If your fiancee is entering the US through the 6-month visa waiver program for the UK, she can't legally stay here beyond that period. Many management companies would check her docs if you wanted her on the lease and it would be difficult to add someone to a lease who wasn't legally allowed to be here for the term of the lease.

even if you are getting married, you have no need to add her.

yes, people do this all the time. i think i lived with my boyfriend then husband for like 5 years in his 1 bedroom apartment and was never added to the lease. doorman building too. it never gets back. don't bother.

My husband owned a coop when we got married and after we got married, we did the paperwork to add me as a co-owner of the apartment. I think it depends on how long you plan on living in your rental apartment. If it's for a short period of time, you may not want to bother with the paperwork to add her on the lease. It also depends on how important it is to her- if it makes her feel more secure to be on the lease and there's a small (or no) fee for the paperwork, then why not add her to the lease?

You are legally entitled to have a roommate: http://manhattanfirm.com/fact_sheets/roommates.htm

Thanks, jrd! I am glad I asked. Thank you to all who replied -- this was most helpful. Now I do not plan to add her to the lease.

Good move ukrguy.