SFR with ADU - various rental strategies

[Sarah Buchanan]

I own and manage several single family rentals. One has a 4/2 upstairs and an ADU (2/1) in the basement, but they are not separately metered and doing so is not an option (also, yard is not divided). Previously we have rented the whole house to one group - it's great for friends, multi generational situations, etc. Our current residents who are AWESOME (rent always on time, take great care of property) now have a situation where the downstairs roommate is moving out but the upstairs group wants to stay (lease is up July 1). They want to know their options for renewing and are concerned about getting an PITA roommate downstairs. I'm trying to decide between renting the basement as a long term rental (and figure out something with the yard and utilities), do a short term rental like Airbnb or Furnished finders and give upstairs a utility credit, or leave it up to the current tenants to sublet it on Airbnb or find another roommate (so I don't get calls about tenant disputes since they will have chosen them). Has anyone had a similar situation? Any advice or things I should be aware of?