Roommates Not Getting Along in Househack Situation

[Kamran Rahman]

Alright.

The Problem: I have one roommate who does not want to live in the same house as the other roommate.

Below are cliffs of the situation:

A. I have a 3 bedroom place. One bedroom is mine. One bedroom is leased out to a roommate, who has lived in the place for the last 3.5 months. Let's call them roommate 1. 

B. The second room is leased out to a relatively new tenant, who moved in 7 weeks ago. 4 weeks ago, his sister moved in with him, and she went through a background check and all that. Let's call this pair Roommate 2.

C. 8 weeks ago, Roommate 1 texted me if I was really going to let Roommate 2 move in. I said yes. They made some remark about him being weird, and then asked how old he was (Roommate 2 is an elderly man who is a little eccentric). I asked them why they were wondering about the person's age, and also what made them feel like Roommate 2 was weird. They said they couldn't explain, and that they just got a weird vibe.

D. Fast forward to this week, Roommate 1 texted saying that they have been staying at someone else's house because it is too stressful for them to live with Roommate 2. They also said that they don't feel like they should have to pay full rent because of this. Below are the reasons they stated that Roommate 2 is stressful because of the following:

1. Roommate 2 has a friend that is always hanging out at the home.

2. Roommate 2 is always hanging out on the couch in the common area.

3. Roommate 2 takes up a lot of fridge space. 

4. Roommate 2 is always watching television with the volume high. '

I politely told Roommate 1 I understand, and that I can give them the option to end the lease early. They said they would not move out, so I reiterated that if they do not move out, they would be expected to pay rent each month per usual (I mentioned since they mentioned they don't think they should have to pay full rent).

I also told them the only other real thing I could do is talk to Roommate 2 AGAIN, but I really feel like it is not my job to be their intermediator. 

That is a full summary of the issue.

I am looking for feedback on how i am handling the situation so far, as well as how anyone else with similar experiences recommend i proceed. 

[Spencer Cornelia]

@Kamran Rahman I have a 7 bed house and "house hack" with 6 other roommates.  I've been doing this for 7 months now and have had to deal with many issues revolving around roommates getting along.

My house is setup perfectly for a house hack as there is no living room and not much space for people to bring friends over.  However, I have had to deal with unwanted guests numerous times.

One thing I'd recommend is to have them both sit down with you one night and have a talk about everything.  Lay it all out on the line.  Let roommate one voice their concerns and allow roommate two to hear them and see how they react.

When you run a house hack, you need to be the alpha of the house.  The leader.  This isn't talked about anywhere on Bigger Pockets.  Both of these roommates are looking at you to provide them with an enjoyable living arrangement.  It's on you to provide this for them.

So now it's on you to solve this problem.  I would highly recommend having them talk it out with you there.  Proceed accordingly.

@James Galla mentions a very important point with house hacking.  In the future, you really have to screen people not only for their ability to pay, but also their ability to fit in to your house hack.  I know nothing more about the eccentric roommate, but if I'm reading this correctly, he sounds like a problem.

Roommate one is probably upset because there are 4 people in the house, instead of the expected 3.  I don't deal well with noise so another roommate playing loud tv noise would be upsetting to me.  Additionally, it sounds like roommate 1 is uncomfortable with a random guest hanging out in the living room all the time.  This is a valid complaint.  Without further info, I'm going to assume that there are times where this guest is there without roommate 2.  That's an uncomfortable feeling for roommate 1 if they need to leave and they're worrying about their stuff getting taken.

I have a house rules document that I give to everyone who moves in.  I make it very clear what I expect of roommates.  If they don't follow the rules, then they will be asked to leave.  You may need to start enforcing rules to ensure all roommates are comfortable living there.