Tenants who are long term friends (24 years).

[Justin Fox]

I was wondering if anyone treats deposits or income requirements different for applicants that aren't families?

Thanks.

[Marcia Maynard]

Do your applicant screening in compliance with federal and local non-discrimination and fair housing laws. We require a separate rental application and background check on each occupant age 18 or older.  

We use "household income" to meet our income requirements. It's not uncommon for people's income to change over time. If it gets to the point where the people in the household can't afford to rent the place, then negotiate a move-out plan. That's favorable to waiting for a default and eviction.  It's not uncommon for the makeup of a household to change, especially with long-term tenancies, so have a plan in place to handle this. We have a procedure for adding and removing parties to a rental agreement. This covers our risk and also clarifies the terms for all the parties involved.

We establish a base rate for the security deposit and may increase it to cover our risk if we offer to rent to someone with a weakness in rental/housing history, credit history, income/employment history, or legal history. The security deposit stays with us, intact, for the duration of the tenancy, regardless if one of the parties moves out. If at a later time someone wants to move in and we feel it will increase our risk, then we'll ask for more security deposit. The security deposit is received and returned to those who are in the household at the time. If the make-up of the household changes, the tenants need to work it out among themselves regarding their shares.

Hope this helps!