The unit is roughly 500 sq ft and has two adults & a child living there.

If somebody didn't qualify on their own, as a grown adult with their own income and their own references - I didn't want the job of teaching them how to be an adult or to give them their grown-up consequences for being a grown-up adult who didn't act like one in my building.Just say no.  

Whatever your tenant is spending his money on as a priority other than rent - which is always my personal #1 priority - is his big adult boy lesson to learn and not your problem. 

Had I done so I would have save a great deal of anxiety, money, and time because I would have known that he had several federal tax liens and was sued by creditors for skipping out on bills, hires undocumented workers, and sexually harasses female tenants. 

Sometimes I guess it's scary being a young female in a predominately male community.

I look at my own adult life starting 1997 (post college), the fed has embarked on 2 rate cycle increases.

So I guess now I'm fully embracing that as a fairly mature adult who is nowhere near retirement currently.

For example a female who is renting rooms shouldn't be forced to take male roommates.

The tenant , husband and adult son were on the lease, but any time I would be there lots of others appeared to be living there as well .

I cant imagine that your prospect roommate's wont know what your paying and then ask why you want them to pay more.You may also run into issues with the landlord by allowing adult occupants to live in the property that are not on the lease.