Include third person roommate in lease?

[Shera Gregory]

We are considering renting to a couple who also have a friend they want to have live with them to help cover the rent. The couple together make exactly the 3x rent that we require. The third person makes enough to bring this up to over 5x rent. This third person had some drug problems and an eviction but seems to have been doing well for the past year. He spoke very highly of his friends, says he understands if I don't want to rent to him but asked that I not hold it against the couple. I was considering just putting the couple on the lease and letting them have the guy live with them but I think things could get sticky if for some reason they were to leave or have problems and then I have a third person living in the house with no lease. Ideas? This is in Virginia.

[Shera Gregory]

Thanks @Phillip Syrios @Cal C. and @Marcia Maynard for your comments. These were all helpful in my follow-up discussions with the potential roommate/tenant. I will make sure that he is on the lease. They have all agreed to a deposit equal to two months rent. I found out that the roommate has been clean for about 2 1/2 years (the one year period was how long has has been on the current job). He has a good support system in place including monthly counseling sessions with drug testing. His current employer (who is aware of the full situation) is also a landlord so he understands the concerns I might have and spoke very highly of this individual. Nothing is ever 100% but I feel that we have a good shot at helping a deserving person. That is one thing that I enjoy about our role as a landlord -- we are not just a big corporation with strict criteria that can never bend.