Tenants requesting to have a friend stay short term

[Chad Bower]

I have tenants that are currently in a 1 year lease that expires in July.  They have approached me to ask if there friend can live with them until their lease is up.  I (landlord) pay for water, garbage, sewer for utilities on their side.  The only one I am really worried about is water as the other two utilities are fixed.

Here are the things I have brainstormed for this to work.  Please share any other thoughts that I may be missing.

1. Asking for an increase in monthly rent due to water utilities.

2. Having the new tenant complete a background check. (tenant pays).

3. Creating an addendum to the lease to have his name on it.

Please let me know if you would do anything differently. Also, if you have any good/easy/affordable background check companies to recommend, I will take it.

Thank you for your time.

Chad

[Cassi Justiz]

I would definitely require the new tenant to apply and qualify to meet the same qualifications as your current tenant. It may be hard to increase the rent without a notice and a new lease agreement (depending on your state laws), but you can do an addendum that any increase in the water bill will be forwarded to the tenant. 

Mysmartmove.com is a good choice for credit and background checks.