What does renter mean?
A renter is someone who pays to use property that belongs to another person, most often a house, apartment, or room. In everyday North American usage, the word usually identifies the tenant rather than the owner of the property. It is particularly common in discussions of housing, rents, leases, and tenants' rights, as in “renter's insurance” or “rent burden.” The word can also describe a person who rents out property, especially in British English, where its meaning may cover either side of a rental arrangement. Compared with the more formal term lessee, renter is accessible and suited to general speech and writing. Compared with tenant, it may suggest an individual rather than emphasizing a legal relationship, although the two words are often interchangeable in modern usage. The term is useful whenever the focus is on a person's participation in renting rather than on the property, payment, or lease itself.
nounA person who rents a property or occupies rented premises. In British usage, it can also mean a person who rents out a property to someone else.
- A person who rents a house, apartment, room, or other property from someone else.
- In British usage, a person who rents out a property to someone else.
"After several years of rising rents, the couple decided to look for a larger home with a more flexible lease."
"The new renter was impressed by the flat's quiet location near the park."
"Many local homeowners have converted spare rooms into rentals for students and other renters."
The standard plural is renters, as in “renters' rights.”
"Local charities help renters find emergency accommodation."
“Renter” can name either side of a rental: in North American usage it usually means the tenant, while in British English it can also mean the landlord.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does renter come from?
The word was formed in English by adding the agentive suffix -er to rent. Rent came through Old French from a Latin verb meaning “to give” or “provide,” and its modern meaning developed through the notion of giving or providing something in return for payment. The closely related forms rental and rentable were also formed from the same English root.
How renter is actually used
In North American English, renter usually refers to a tenant and is often associated with renting a residence. In British English, it can also refer to a landlord who rents out property.
Easily confused with renter
A renter is the person who pays for the use of a property, whereas rent is the payment itself or the act of leasing it.
A lessee is the formal legal term for a person who holds property under a lease, while renter is the more common everyday word.