Hi,

Just last month I have rented out my first property to a tenant. The lease was signed by one person and he moved in alone.

Now he is requesting to allow him to have a roommate (his friend), so that they can split the rent.

I want to agree to his request, but since I am new to this, wanted to your opinion. Should i do a credit check and background check for the second person, Shall i insist on adding him to the lease, etc?

Any pointers will be of great help.

thank you all for guidance and support.

Regards,

Sai 

Absolutely! Treat him the same as you did with the first tenant. Also, see about putting  him as a responsible party. In other words, both parties will be treated as equal and both will be responsible for rent and/or if they default. Plus, he needs to be over 18 or will be regarded as the full responsibility of the original party

Hi there Sai! It'd definitely depend on what City and Sate you're in, as they all have different landlord and tenant laws.

Here in Arizona we require new roommates to fill out and submit applications and pay the application fee, just as if though they were applying to rent the unit. The difference would be, if the first tenant met the income requirements then the second person's income and or employment may not be of as much concern. But their criminal background and rental history would be.

Out here the landlord has the right to deny the new roommate, they don't have to accept them. However working things out with tenants is always suggested over eviction, since they might just move the person in and try to keep it a secret. It can be difficult to prove that they have an unauthorized person living with them.

The important thing is to get the new roommate's information really, so even offering to not charge, or to discount the application fee might move things along. If you choose to deny the new roommate start to document everything so if you do have to evict you have proof of an unauthorized occupant.

Hope this helps!

I would definitely make an amendment to the lease and add the roommate. It's very hard to track who stays at your property sometimes so if they are telling you up front then I would just add them to the lease. But also make sure that you mention that the rent will be due in full regardless if one roommate pays or not. 

@Sai Korukonda Just like @Andrea Yanee said, treat the potential roommate just as you would any other applicant. They should fill out an application with app fee and should be screened just the same. We typically have both the tenant and new roommate complete/sign a Roommate Addendum. This document acts just like a lease without having to completely redo the lease agreement to add the new person. They should both be financially responsible in case one of them moves without notifying you. 

YES! You should always do a complete background on EVERY adult. If mom and dad want to rent and their 20-year-old son will be living with them while attending college, you still screen the son.

I also charge a fee for making changes to the lease. If they want to add a roommate, the roommate has to apply and be approved. Then I make them pay a $50 fee to change the lease and I add the new roommate to the lease and make him sign. If a tenant wants to leave early, I charge a $50 fee and make all tenants fill out a form agreeing to let that individual leave.