Lease Agreement Question

[Eric Geiger]

I just purchased my first rental property (3 bed/1 bath townhome).  I am in the process of finding a tenant and have interest from a couple different groups of young adults.  Both situations are 3 non related young adults that would be splitting the rent.  My question is, do I have 3 separate lease agreements for each person?  Any and all advice is much appreciated.

[Adam Martin]

I would think if they are applying together you would have 1 lease and they are all jointly liable for rent and damages.  If you have 3 leases this would complicate things since 1 person can leave and then you would have to rent 1 room with the other 2 that were left behind.  If there was damage to a common area who is responsible at the end as you wouldn't be returning one deposit.  Lots of people rent their property by the room but it seems to be a hassle and I would want to be compensated for that.  Also if there are issues at the end if they are on one lease you can just get a judgement against the most collectable vs trying to collect each persons piece.