Rental Applicant Requirements in the Case of Multiple Tenants

[Account Closed]

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the first time process of accepting applicants for an apartment.  I have a question about the approval process for multiple tenants in one unit (husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, or roommates).

I'm definitely going to run a background check on each adult that lives in the unit, but what about income requirements?  Does each person have to meet the income requirements on their own or together?  My income requirements are 3X the monthly rate and the monthly rate is 600.  Does that mean each tenant has to make 1800/month or would you accept them if they made a combined 1800/month.

My concern would be what if one roommate decided to leave or the couple broke up?

Thanks for your responses!

-Joe

[Marcia Maynard]

We require a household income of 3x rent and will consider 2.5x with an additional security deposit.  All persons age 18 or above must complete a rental application and be named on the lease as a tenant, jointly and severally liable.  The law will see everyone living there as a tenant with equal rights, whether you name them in your lease or not, even if you call them an occupant.

We also have a procedure in place for adding or removing tenants from the lease, as changes in household make up do happen.  If the household income drops below our threshold because of a person moving out, we get more security deposit at that time.   We also make sure the tenants understand the full security deposit stays with us until the unit is returned to our possession at the end of tenancy.  Anyone moving out needs to get their share of the security deposit from the folks who are staying.