As a renter, there are many different rules and requirements that you have to pay attention to. One common question is whether or not you can be on two leases at once. In most cases, you can have two apartments in your name without a problem.
There are a few reasons that you might need two leases. For example, you live primarily in one location but work a lot of hours in another.
Reasons to Rent Two Apartments at Once
Traveling
One of the most common reasons you might rent two apartments at once is that you travel a lot. As we mentioned in the example above, someone who regularly travels for work between two locations might have an apartment in both locations.
It’s convenient and gives them a comfortable place to rest, so they don’t have to commute quite as much.
Traveling doesn’t just have to be business travel. It could be for work purposes, school purposes, or maybe even a family situation that you are dealing with.
Perhaps you travel for medical treatment frequently. If your medical treatment is a regular occurrence and you have to travel quite a distance for it, it could be feasible to have a second apartment in that area. This allows you to receive your treatment as needed and to stay there for any follow-up or rest.
Overlapping Leases
If you are transitioning from one apartment to another, you may have two leases while you make the transition. In this scenario, even though your name would be on two leases at once, it would only be for a short term while they overlap.
The overlapping lease is for a month or even less in most cases. This gives you some time to plan your move and get everything moved and cleaned without having to deal with a rushed situation. For some people, it’s far easier than trying to move quickly in a day or two.
You might be able to negotiate with the landlords to avoid overlapping costs, but this is not guaranteed. If the leases overlap, you could be paying rent and utilities at both locations in that month.
Renovations
In some cases, you might need to have two leases because of renovations that could be happening. You may want to rent two apartments at once while the renovations occur.
For example, if you want to keep your main apartment, but it is undergoing extensive renovations, which are expected to take some time, you could look for a month-to-month lease elsewhere. This would allow you to temporarily relocate to a new place rather than having to live in an apartment that is undergoing renovations.
You might even be required to temporarily move some of your furniture out for the renovations to occur. The good news is your main apartment will be great when you get back into it.
Fun
Finally, you might have two leases if you can afford to have more than one home and have a second location that you just like to head off to for fun. Maybe you keep one apartment as a summer or weekend getaway. You can head off on holiday and treat yourself.
You don’t have to worry about hotels or scheduling your trip. Instead, you can just head off and enjoy your second apartment. In this case, it is just like having a second home or vacation home. The only difference is that you are leasing both locations rather than owning both locations.
Does Being on Two Leases Hurt Your Credit?
The answer to this question is it depends. As long as you pay everything on time, you shouldn’t have to worry about your credit. In fact, it will likely look good on your credit. However, if you’re not keeping up with expenses and getting things paid, you may hurt your credit.
Your leases might not even be reported to the credit bureaus unless it gets to the point that you aren’t paying and you owe a lot of money. If you’re keeping up just fine, your credit will be just fine.