No, but a landlord usually requires that everyone living in a rental unit be on the lease. If a roommate is a tenant on the lease but doesn’t sign it, they still have rights and obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act. However, it can be a problem if the lease includes rights and obligations outside of the Act. This is because the tenant who doesn’t sign the lease may not be subject those provisions. For example, a lease gives a tenant the ability to end a periodic tenancy with a shorter notice period. A tenant who doesn’t sign the lease may not get the benefit of the shorter notice period. To learn more about whether everyone needs to be on the lease, refer to our FAQ – Does everyone who is living in the property have to be named on the lease?
November 2023
