Screen a roommate just like any other tenant, because that's what they become once they move in. They are signed onto the lease as "jointly and severally liable" for all conditions and terms of the lease, including making sure the WHOLE RENT is paid.

Roommate is a causal term used to describe anything from someone else living in a home to a shack up living arrangement. I don't care what they do or how they see themselves relationally. Any time we add a roommate we explain using small words...

"You are now on this lease. You are responsible for everything. If one of you moves out, you are still responsible for everything. There is no such thing as 'my half' and 'her half' of the rent. There is simply 'the rent.' If one of you damages the door or the wall, both of you are responsible for paying the entire bill, even if you were not the one who did it."

When you explain it in terms like that, I've had roomies back out at the last minute. They think they're just moving in and going to couch serf/enjoy some free rent and maybe get some action for awhile then move out on a whim. I clear them up on that mistake quickly. If one roommate wants to leave before their roomie moves out, they must pay the Early Lease Termination fee and sign away any rights to a Security Deposit Refund. It's up to them to work it out between themselves.

I consider roommates as I do any couple. I don't care if they sleep together or separately, same process of screen, lease, full deposit in trust account, full rent paid on rent due day.

If, when they leave, they go separate directions, both agree in writing to split the deposit. Or one will agree the other gets the whole thing (depending on their own arrangements.) Deductions are made according to the lease: any damage or dirt comes out of full deposit before splitting.

If one leaves before the lease is up, that's between them. Deposit stays with the house until the final person leaves.

I require each roommate to qualify separately. Most of them can't, or they wouldn't need a roommate. That's my way to keep roommates out.

That varies by state. I can do it but, in California, the combined income must be used to qualify the group, so know your local law.

It's all well and good to require each new roommate moving in to apply and qualify, but there really isn't any way for a landlord to know who is moving in or out if no one notifies the landlord.

I also see a lot of applicants coming out of one of those commune homes who are applying by themselves, but I have a strong suspicion that the whole group plans to move in once the housing is secured.

J, I don't discriminate on the basis of marital status, so I treat married couples the same as roommates.

True, David. I did have a married couple sign a lease and a few months after move in they had got divorced. Although I think there's still a better chance of the married couple staying together for at least a year lease than roommates who've never lived together and may barely know each other.

Do you require anyone who rents from you to have rented together as a group before?

Sid, what do you do if the second or subsequent roommates then want to leave early before lease end? You also charge them the entire ELT fee also?

I wonder about the legality of charging one exiting tenant the ELT when there is still a paying tenant within the building making regular rent payments.

I do exactly what Oregonwoodsmoke does. I require each adult tenant to meet all rental qualifications individually. This means they can't "combine" incomes to meet the income requirement. They also must meet all other requirements - enough rental and employment history, minimum credit, etc. Each adult tenant is jointly and severally liable for all lease terms. I do not accept co-signers.

As a result, I don't have a lot of roommate tenants. Which is how I like it. Two people whose primary reason to live together is a need/desire to split the rent are not my idea of quality, long term tenants. One will very likely move out, either during the lease term or at its end. If she moves out before the lease is up, and the remaining tenant wants a new roommate, you're now spending time and energy qualifying the new roommate, adding him/her to the lease, etc. No thanks.

"what do you do if the second or subsequent roommates then want to leave early before lease end?"

There a few options for what a LL want to do should one lessee move out early

1) nothing. The roommate can move out, but they still jointly bound by the lease to pay rent, damages caused etc

2) negotiate with all lessees to remove that person from the lease prior to lease end

{{{[[[...... Oregon, of course you will know who is living in your house if you keep an eye on your properties? ......}}}}}

Only if you park your surveillance van across the street for a couple of weeks and keep track of everyone going in and out.

Tenants are allowed to have friends visit and even to spend the night. So seeing a person going in and out frequently doesn't mean they live there.

You have to give 24 hour notice to go in and even then, you can't look in their dresser drawers to see whose clothing is in there.

It's against the law to take their mail out of the mailbox to see who is receiving mail there.

It's easier to hide an unauthorized tenant than it is to hide an unauthorized dog and the dog can be hidden pretty well with a little extra effort.

i ALWAYS tell them straight out that leaving and swapping in a tenant ALWAYS benefits the guy leaving and OFTEN shanks the new guy. I make them repeat that and nod their head that they get it and accept reality.

my lease treats that as a move out and i reserve the right to charge a fee for the lease drawing with the new "crew"

i have a form that says the guy moving has entirely cleaned the place, steamed the carpets and left it hospital clean and the new guy agrees it is in pristine and new condition and that all damages will be charged to the "last men standing". this usually means the last persons in get the whammy and i tell them that straight out. the party inbound gets the same scrutiny that the original tenants get and i make the new guy and all others agree that i can share their credit report with the others and discuss the wisdom of being in business together. i have had this occur several times in my more desirable rentals...it usually gets a LITTLE testy at the final move but the documentation and plain language i use is dispositive of any complaints as their signatures are all there in blue ink. when they moan about a charge i remind them that i made them "repeat after me and not their heads" that they FULLY understood the way it would end. i

i ALWAYS tell them straight out that leaving and swapping in a tenant ALWAYS benefits the guy leaving and OFTEN shanks the new guy. I make them repeat that and nod their head that they get it and accept reality.

my lease treats that as a move out and i reserve the right to charge a fee for the lease drawing with the new "crew"

i have a form that says the guy moving has entirely cleaned the place, steamed the carpets and left it hospital clean and the new guy agrees it is in pristine and new condition and that all damages will be charged to the "last men standing". this usually means the last persons in get the whammy and i tell them that straight out. the party inbound gets the same scrutiny that the original tenants get and i make the new guy and all others agree that i can share their credit report with the others and discuss the wisdom of being in business together. i have had this occur several times in my more desirable rentals...it usually gets a LITTLE testy at the final move but the documentation and plain language i use is dispositive of any complaints as their signatures are all there in blue ink. when they moan about a charge i remind them that i made them "repeat after me and not their heads" that they FULLY understood the way it would end. i

When 2 or 3 , usually young people, over 18, come to rent from me, I certainly run credit checks, charge everybody the fee, sign one Lease, and take the whole deposit, divided by the 2 or 3 applicants. Then I explain that one of them must be the "money changer". I want one check for the entire amount of rent, each month. IF SOMEONE MOVES OUT, they replace'em. Because I don't return any deposits before the lease expires. If the party moves out on his/her buddies, they go to their buddy/roommate for their part of the deposit and when a replacement roommate is found, he/she pays the portion to the deposit to the original tenant. That goes for damages too, cause I tell'em all that in the end, whoever is the last tenant standing will be accountable for damages, deposits refunds and excellent referrals.

Jeffrey was polite. I'll be more direct.

Yikes! I see several posters on this thread who are breaking Federal Fair Housing Law. Please review your criteria and have it in writing.

You MUST treat EVERY APPLICANT the same, married, fiance', shack up, roommates, students, CL 'seeking roommate', met at a bar last night...

**You cannot treat married and non-married differently.**

You cannot define "family". (I know, someone will challenge me on this buy YOU can be the public test case, not me. And with all the same sex movements do you really want your name on the front page of the paper?)

If you require each "non-married" person to qualify for the whole rent individually you must do the same for "married" persons. So no stay at home Moms or persons with part time income or 20 year old students in the home.

If the one person can afford the rent why do they need a platonic roommate?

One reason for people rooming together is to share the expenses. This helps us get homes rented AND helps us get our rent.

I do not see married couples staying longer than other "pairs".

When one wants to move out we allow them to pay the ELT to remove their name IF IF IF the remaining person can afford it on their own or can find a suitable replacement who passes our screening. If not the departing roomie's name stays on the lease no matter where they sleep.

Have a written criteria which treats everyone the same and be able to prove it on the day the Fair Housing Office comes knocking on your door. (they do that ya know!)

If you are worried about longevity include a specific, documentable criteria that you include on EVERY screening.

Stay safe and legal gang!

BRAD

Sarah

Drama free? Like NE said - stay out of it.

-Solid screening for stable people

-Solid lease to protect you when their feathers fly

-ELT fee. Get PAID to let them go

-Don't answer the phone. They are less likely to leave a message about their drama.

-Business relationship, not friends.

We rent to many roommates pairs and it works fine.

Another thought...Lemonade from lemons .

If the pair splits we often rent a lesser priced home to the remaining person.

We recently had a couple break up the day they moved in. We moved each of them to one bedroom apts. No need to pay the 60 day notice period and the ELT.