Trying to lease first home - but spouse has no income (and not great credit either) (apartment, tenant)

[BreatheDeep]

Hello all,

So here's the deal. Me and my partner are officially tired of the apartment life and have been attempting to house hunt as our current lease is almost up. We live near the Bay Area, so naturally demand is out of control, but it looks like we finally found a place that we have a chance at, but there's of course a potentially big issue(s).

First - my partner has no job. Not that he's just sitting at home you understand, he's a full time nursing student and when he does have free time (rarely) he volunteers to gain extra experience. Second - The business that owns this property has a clear policy of No Evictions Whatsoever. Unfortunately, when my partner moved to California back in 2010 his parents told him to place his name on their housing lease (even though he was a student, with no income, or even real credit history himself). He tried to have himself removed after he no longer lived there and was actually signed to another lease when we moved in together, but the landlord refused to do so. And of course last year his parents got themselves evicted, so thanks to that he probably does have an eviction on his own record.

Sounds terrible right? Well the bright side at least is that I earn about 100k a year, so roughly six times the monthly rent of the property we wish to lease, and I don't have any negative marks on my own rental history. Since we have been living together for the past two years he has no negative marks either.

So for those of you who actually understand this whole real estate business, in a situation like this is it ever possible for only one party to be financially responsible for the property? I mean, married couples where one works and the other doesn't happen all the time right? And also (and please, be brutally honest) from a landlords perspective, does it make sense or would a landlord ever overlook one half's shortcomings when the one who obviously makes the money and pays the bills is in a much more comfortable financial situation?

Thus far my potential landlord seems like an incredibly cool guy and I've been very forthcoming with him, I'm just debating how exactly to handle this last part. I want to explain everything before we officially apply so all the cards are on the table and there are no surprises - but at the same time I also want to know how badly this could hurt our prospects.

[STT Resident]

The "no evictions whatsoever" is pretty clearcut but if your income alone is sufficient to pay the rent then you need to apply on your own merits and have your spouse/partner listed as an occupant and not as a cosigner to the lease. As long as your background check and credit rating meet the criteria, it may not be a problem at all.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

In CA it's illegal to discriminate against unmarried couples or for sexual orientation. And in CA, landlords must consider the "combined" income of the tenants on the lease. No need for your partner to make any money, since you make enough on your own.

I rented apts in a building in Santa Clara, as the manager there. I would require credit checks of both of you, and landlord references as well, and proof of your income. If your partner explained to me what happened, and his last landlord said he was a great tenant, and he also gave me proof that he's a student, I would have no problem renting to you both, with your income and your good credit.

Here's the discrimination law on the topic in CA, which mentions that landlords must accept your "combined" income:

California Housing Discrimination by Landlord | Tenant Hub