Landlord laws--HELP!!

Question

5 of us share a house. We just added the 5th person on our lease.

Our land-lady is asking for this persons checking account numbers.

is this legal?

She said her reason was so she "knows how much is in the account" so she knows that he"can make the rent payments"... but if i'm not mistaken, the point of a lease is so that no matter what, the rent gets paid. So even if this 5th person loses his job, its our responsibility to make sure we still get the rent paid for, on time.

He told her he was uncomfortable giving away that information and she said she would "take legal action" against him if he didnt.

Note that NO ONE ELSE on the lease has EVER given our land lady our banking account numbers.

What should our response be? Do landlords have a legal right to know your bank account information?

Answer 1

Yes, landlords have a legal right to know how much is in your bank account. This is common practice as is showing proof of employment. Also, many landlords ask for copies of pay stubs showing you make at least double the rent every month (before taxes).

They don't get to know exactly how much is in your account, they just call the bank and tell them what the monthly rent is and the banker can either confirm or deny that the tenant has enough in their account to cover two (or sometimes three) month's rent.  

Answer 2

Honestly I wouldn't give her any checking account numbers sounds to shady to me.. I'd say go ahead what you going to take legal action against me for? that just makes no sense to me at all.. call her bluff especailly if no one else had to give that info to her before the fifth person moved in..

and if she throws you all out, thats a breech of contract then you could take legal actions against her.. and I would..

its a dog eat dog world out there.. Identy theft is very scary..

Answer 3

NO, let her do whatever she wants, no lawyer will take it, and no housing court will allow it.

At the beginning of the lease, when you first sign, the landlord is allowed to check. But that is so the landlord knows what they are getting into. However, after the lease is signed, unless there is some provision in it to do so, the landlord should not, and pretty much cannot ask for account numbers, however she can ask for SS numbers, and do credit checks, because that person is going on the lease.

That is the general law, however it can vary a bit from state to state. Go to www.lsc.gov and try to find a housing lawyer or organization in your state (which from this site, will consult you for free), and ask them the law for your state.

Answer 4

To my knowledge, the need to verify funds and ability to pay the rent. NO, They cannot have your personnel account numbers.