Company Renting ADU for Their Employee

[Abel Guillen]

I have a friend that needs to house an employee for about a year. My friend will be paying the rent directly to me. Given that my ADU is attached to my primary residence, should I go through the formal process of filling out a rental application? If so, should the tenant fill out the application or should I have the financially responsible party fill out the application. My friend assures me that while young, (early 20s), has a girlfriend and was told that he is a hard worker and should not be a problem. Should the GF be on the lease as well? What impact should that have on the rent?

The ADU itself needs work and I have not yet fixed it into a condition that I'm happy to rent. Is it livable, yes, but definitely needs to be painted and was thinking about replacing the old flooring with new vinyl plank. I mentioned this to my friend that owns the company and he suggested that maybe my new tenant would be able to make improvements as he previously did construction. Any advice would be appreciated as I navigate my first house hack. Thank you!