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.