Renting a SFH to 3 guys.

[Jane Istre]

I have 3 guys in their 20's who want to rent a house from me. I've been a landlord for over 12 years and usually deal with families, these guys seem to be responsible and have good jobs and combined make over 100k. The house is in a "C-D" neighborhood that has been experiencing more drug crime than normal, do to a trailer park nearby that is becoming a problem. I have been having some difficulty renting this home. Even section 8 tenants will not rent it. What are some things I should consider when renting to multiple tenants with in a single rental. I was going to go up on the rent to hire a housekeeper to make sure the place stays clean. 

[Corby Goade]

I'd be careful here- not renting to tenants who meet your criteria because they are "guys" is a clear cut federal fair housing violation. I know that's not exactly what your concern is, but it's worded that way. As a landlord, it's imperative that you have clear cut rental criteria that you make available to anyone who wants to rent from you. The first applicant that meets those criteria gets the place. It makes landlording so much simpler and you can totally avoid any type of fair housing issues.

There are posts with a variation of this question on here regularly, and I see lots of replies ignoring fair housing violations or just saying landlords shouldn't worry about them for a multitude of reasons. The fact is, following those laws makes your life so much easier as a landlord, you don't have to think about the details when renting to a prospective tenant and it actually helps you find better candidates. Besides, in my market, law schools have students constantly making calls to landlords trying to get them to violate fair housing and they press charges as an exercise. You don't want to get caught up in court because you don't want to rent to "guys."

Best of luck!