Hello -

I'm living in Texas and leased a condo a couple of months ago. I would now like to add my fiancée as an occupant. The leasing office ran her credit and discovered she still owes a small amount of money to a previous landlord. We can rectify this by simply paying it, but I have a few questions about how the lease process really works, our tenant rights, etc..

When they ran her application, they said they listed her as having $0 income (even though she is a teacher) since I earn more than enough money to lease the apartment by myself. My questions:

Is there such a thing as "Occupant status only" for persons over 18 years of age?

What are the real differences between the terms, occupant and applicant or resident?

Since they are not considering her income at all and they stated the application was for criminal background check only (which is clear) why would this old debt prevent her from being an occupant of the property - that is, not responsible for the lease?

In short, can she live here at all, simply be listed as an an occupant, and NOT sign the lease?

Any helpful, factual information is appreciated!

Whether she can live their as an occupant without the landlord's approval depends on your lease terms and the landlord. If she is listed on the lease as an occupant that means she is allowed to reside there but is not responsible for the lease payments. So if you move, she has to also.

An applicant is someone waiting for approval for housing. A resident and occupant are probably synonymous