Renting to roommates in a SFR

[Sam Leon]

Is it just me or does anyone else have more problems when renting to multiple roommates sharing a single family home?  For example, renting to 4 people in a 4BR house?

This is not a college student rental scenerio.

I knew roommates would be more transient.  That they might not move in and out at the same time, and I need to deal with moving one person out and adding someone in.  I don't do individual leases, they will have to line up all the occupants at one time, then I do an application, deposits, and a single lease they are held jointly liable.

But after a few years of experimenting with this in two rentals, I am not liking it.

It seems roommates (even if they are good friends) do not do share chores.  So if you have Amanda, Brenda, Carol and Doris in a house, who takes out the trash every day is a BIG thing.  Everyone just assumes someone else would do it eventually.  The trash gets piled up...which eventually translate into a call to me about seeing roaches around the trash cans under the sink cabinet.  Who rolls the trash cart out for collection twice a week?  Who should be paying the water bill (yes I got a call of no water at 8pm thinking it's a plumbing issue but instead service was cut off from non-payment).  Drama about Carol wanting a lock on her bedroom door to keep others out of her valuables.  Amanda said she has nothing to do with the fridge door handle and the kitchen cabinet door hinge being yanked off, someone else did it, charge someone else...they are jointly liable, on a single lease, yet they behave as if they have 4 leases.  Fight over who gets to park under the car port, who gets to park on the uncovered driveway...wants me to assign parking, no...you guys work it out.  Or may be it's me that I need to have a better approach to these pesty drama.  Them not getting along with each other has direct impact on me doing my job, for example, now I have to individually inform all roommates to make sure I can come by next Tuesday at 10am to do some repairs, because Brenda doesn't talk to Doris anymore LOL.

I do understand these things could happen in a family too, that a couple could have marriage issues and have fights and I would have the same drama, but yet over the years I have never had any drama when renting to a family, whether it is a couple with or without kids, sisters, BF/GF etc...may be it's just luck.

The latest is the annual lease is up.  I sent them a lease expiration notice.  Carol comes to me and say she wants to renew another year, but not with "them".  She has three other "friends".  Amanda wants to stay, but only with Doris as roommates and she needs two other "friends".  Serious?

So my questions to fellow landlords, do you have a different experience when renting properties to roommates that are unrelated?

In addition, if you have an application to your property, and one application is from a family, the other from unrelated roommates, I assume preferring to rent to the family would be a violation of FHA's familial status, yes?