Tenant screening - Income = 3X rent

[Alexander Lang]

Hi BP Fam!

So the rule of thumb I hear is to have the tenants gross income equal or greater than three times the rent rate. 

Just to clarify, If I have a boyfriend and girlfriend, sisters, friends, whomever renting my unit, would that be each tenant has to qualify using that rule of thumb, or just the combined gross income of all of the individuals that will be on the lease agreement?

I do believe it is the combined total gross income, however I was thinking about this after listening to one of the podcasts (episode 48) in which @Brandon Turner stated he doesn't allow anyone to rent from him not even if they make a dollar less than that threshold, however how would that work if that hypothetical boyfriend/girlfriend couple splits up? Clearly they are both liable, they both get the certificate of rent paid (divided equally between all tenants on lease in MN at least), but is it a good practice to calculate all tenants incomes in this instance to determine if things do hit the fan that either of them can support the rent, or just go off gross income and hope they live happily ever after?

Any thoughts?