Alcove guarantees payment for each lease signed on your property, for the life cycle of that lease. (Note: this is available only for homes leased on the platform prior to July 2023)
Alcove is proud to offer lease guarantee protection for Landlords and Property Managers for every signed bedroom lease on your property. What is the Alcove guarantee? Alcove offers a rent guarantee should a tenant wish to end their bedroom lease early, or have some life event that necessitates their move from the property. Should a tenant need to vacate early from your property, Alcove guarantees the rent payments for the original terms of that tenant's lease or until we are able to find a replacement housemate. Let's take a look at an example to illustrate this:
Your first housemate Angela signed on BR1 at your property with a lease start date of 1/1/23 and an end date of 12/31/23. In February, she learns that her employer has relocated her position to a different state and she must move. While unfortunate, as a landlord or property manager, your rental payments are unaffected. Alcove will continue to pay you the stated rate on her lease until 12/31/23 or until we're able to find a suitable replacement housemate. Should Angela complete the early lease termination (ELT) process, then she would vacate on the agreed-upon date with Alcove. Alcove would conduct the typical move-out inspection after Angela vacates the property and open the listing for new applicants.
Provisions and Exceptions to the Alcove Lease Guarantee
Alcove offers the lease guarantee with the good faith expectation that we are able to market the bedroom in question to new applicants and potential tenants. The Alcove lease addendum contains the following language surrounding Marketing and Vacancies:
- Marketing. Alcove will diligently market the property to prospective tenants while the property is listed on Alcove’s proprietary roommate matching service (“the app”) and recommend to landlord or landlord’s agent potential tenants to occupy the property on a per bedroom basis.
- Vacancies. In the event a bedroom is vacant, Alcove reserves the right to fill that vacancy. An incoming tenant must meet Alcove’s standards for community. Landlord has the right to deny the applicant in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, regulations and ethical duties, including but not limited to, those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, familial status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
With this in mind, Alcove is unable to offer lease guarantee payments in the following circumstances and situations:
- Landlord or Property Manager Prevents Marketing Efforts:
If the LL or PM prohibits Alcove's ability to market the room, then we are unable to effectively source replacement housemates. In these situations, Alcove reserves the right to cease lease guarantee payments. - Landlord or Property Manager Fails to Maintain the Bedroom:
If the LL or PM fails to maintain the bedroom in a habitable and safe condition, or does not address necessary repairs or maintenance issues in a timely manner, this can negatively impact Alcove's ability to find a suitable replacement housemate. In such cases, Alcove reserves the right to cease lease guarantee payments. - Landlord or Property Manager Fails to Address Code Violations:
If the LL or PM fails to address and rectify any code violations in the bedroom or the property as a whole, resulting from noncompliance with local building, health, safety, or other applicable regulations, this can adversely affect Alcove's ability to find a suitable replacement housemate. In cases where code violations are not resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner, Alcove reserves the right to cease lease guarantee payments until the LL or PM has taken appropriate actions to bring the property and bedroom into compliance with all applicable codes and regulations. - Landlord or Property Manager Requests Price Increase on the Bedroom:
If the LL or PM wishes to increase the price of the bedroom which had an ELT, Alcove can accommodate this request, however, this negatively impacts Alcove's ability to fill the room with a replacement housemate. As such, if rental rates are increased after a tenant ELT, Alcove reserves the right to cease lease guarantee payments. - Landlord or Property Manager Denies or Fails to Respond to New Applications:
If the LL or PM receives applications to the room which had an ELT and either a) denies multiple suitable applicants, or b) fails to respond to applicants in a timely manner such that their applications expire, Alcove reserves the right to cease guarantee payments. - Landlord or Property Manager Requests that Tenant Early Vacates:
If the LL or PM requests that a tenant early terminates their lease, and that tenant completes the required steps for ELT, that bedroom will not be eligible to receive guarantee payments for the original term of that lease. - Tenant Room Switches within the Same Home:
If the tenant decides to switch rooms within the same home and enters into a new lease agreement for the new room, Alcove will honor the lease guarantee for the new lease in accordance with the terms and conditions of the new agreement. However, Alcove will not be responsible for the lease guarantee payments on the old bedroom lease once the tenant has moved to the new room. - Landlord or Property Manager Plans to remove Property from Alcove:
If the LL or PM intends to remove the property from the platform, Alcove is unable to market the rooms, and as such Alcove reserves the right to cease lease guarantee payments upon receipt of LL or PM's request to delist the property from the Alcove Platform. - (For Transition Properties) Landlord or Property Manager fails to evict a Delinquent Tenant in a timely manner
While Alcove has a comprehensive and thorough rent collection process, it is the landlord's responsibility to complete the eviction process for transition leases if a tenant becomes delinquent. In the event that the landlord fails to evict the delinquent tenant, Alcove is unable to market the rooms, and as a result, Alcove reserves the right to stop making lease guarantee payments.