Landlord Quick Tip

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Tip 169:  Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here!

Fall leasing often involves roommates, and things can get a little hectic for landlords trying to keep track of it all.

When renting to roommates, there are a  few rules you don’t want to break:

It’s a bad idea to rent to one “responsible” roommate and trust them to recruit and police the others.  No matter how often your tenant promises to follow the rules, when push comes to shove, they won’t tell their peers what to do.  Worst case scenario — they move out and you don’t know who’s living in the unit! 

It is better to make them all co-tenants.

Do not allow a co-tenant to move out mid-lease.  Once you agree to that, you could be changing the terms of the entire lease.

Do not distribute a partial security deposit refund to a roommate who is moving out early.  Make them wait until the end of the lease, and after you’ve had a chance to do a final walk-thru.

Do not get involved in mediating squabbles between roommates. Getting along is their problem.

See last week’s Landlord Quick Tip.

American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your rental housing investment, including rental forms, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.