Do you allow people to pool their resources, or must one person carry it all? --173.28.xx.xxx

Just as you stated. Plus, I usually get students or young couples. --73.108.xxx.xxx

I have not had to find a new tenant in quite some time. My rents are lower than current market rates. My fear is I’d have to lower my requirement these days when finding a new tenant. Hence my reason for deciding to sell when I have a vacancy. I don’t ever want to have to chase rents or deal with struggling tenants again. So it’s a dilemma for sure. --75.89.xxx.xxx

3x the rent combined but i want to see a stable relationship,there is no telling which one will move anyway and i feel it is a fair housing violation to say a married couple is ok if only one has a job but another relationship you require both to contribute,my job is to collect rent not to tell them how they should be living --138.197.xx.xxx

I've only had a handful of couples and/or roommates break up over the years - sometimes they find a replacement, sometimes they've moved on. In 20 years, it's happened so few times I bet I could count them without looking at records. --173.28.xx.xxx

Combined --73.149.xx.xxx

In fact I think more people have gotten married than split up. --173.28.xx.xxx

We also use a Roommate Agreement that we make them sign (if they're not married). The agreement is not actually part of the lease...it's between the tenants, although we provide the agreement and keep a copy. Mainly, it spells out that everyone on the lease is 100% responsible for all terms of the lease (not just 50% if, for example, there are 2 of them), and it reinforces that any roommate who is left paying a former roommate's rent may sue the roommate who didn't pay their full share all the way to the end of the lease term. Additionally, it states that the landlord will refund the security deposit to whichever tenants are actually still living in the apartment at the end. --184.56.xx.xxx

That should be in my lease, if one leaves they all leave. Rarely ends well. --216.126.xx.xxx

We just use our standard lease that says tenants are "jointly and severally" responsible for all the terms and conditions, and the Security Deposit stays with the house until the final original tenant moves out, or words to that effect. --173.28.xx.xxx

At least in this part of PA, getting the marital status is routine. We take their word for it, but being married is not a criteria, so no fair housing issues. It's just informational. If they're not married, it triggers the need for the Roommate Agreement which states a lot of things that are automatic when people are married under PA law. Things that unmarried people may not be aware of. --184.56.xx.xxx

I generally only require 2X rent(household) as a minimum although many end up with 3X plus. I have not found the income to be a factor in timely payments even when only 2X. The credit however has been a huge factor. So, my basic requirements are 2X rent and good credit. --99.33.xx.xxx

So if rent is $500 and they make $1000, they only have $500 left over to cover all monthly expenses. If rent is $1500 and they make $3000, they have $1500 left over to cover life. Big difference. The higher the rent the more percentage of income makes a difference. --173.28.xx.xxx

(I ask because we don't. Ask, I mean. I can't even think how we would bring it up.) --173.28.xx.xxx

There might be some gray areas on this married/not married requirements. My understanding from reading here all these years is that if the husband qualifies, the wife comes regardless. If they aren’t married, you’re not going to just screen one of them. --24.152.xxx.xx

I require 3 x NET pay per household. Makes it easy to calculate. --65.188.xxx.xxx

I'm asking how you know if anyone is married. If they share the same last name, that's a clue but not a conclusive one by any means. --173.28.xx.xxx

But, they both (all adults) must have a habit of paying their bills. One deadbeat DQ's them both/all --72.218.xx.xxx

How bout bringing the 4- answers to the class. --69.130.xxx.xxx

WMH, most times they bring it up. Their relationships tend be be bragging rights or what their identity hinge on. I don’t why, cultural??? Who knows. If they share the last name, I’m a traditional kind of guy and I will assume they’re married. If I have to guess at their fairytale dynamic, I assume they’re not married. --24.152.xxx.xx

Here’s another way that I find out. After I get the first application, I will see the list of additional occupants. Then I will tell them that their roommate needs to submit an application. Nine times out of 10, they come back with the explanation of who that person is. I don’t care who that person is. I still want them on file with an application. Even if it is a wife. They say, it’s my boyfriend, brother, sister, partner, spouse, whatever. Soon to be fiancé. Haha. It’s not hard to get this info without asking. --24.152.xxx.xx

Hey I just looked: our application does ask for other occupants' relationship to each other. SO I guess we do find out if they are married? Never noticed. --173.28.xx.xxx

WMH, I’d be a little nervous directly asking that. --174.240.xxx.xxx

Either way I don't care if they are married. Makes no difference to me at all. My oldest lived with her guy for four years before they got married. I actually asked her why she decided to do it. Seemed like they had it made otherwise. --107.147.xx.xx

Then of the extra persons listed, it asks the relationship. Lots of places ask that. Minor detail but is it their spouse, friend, child, cousin, a stranger they met on Grindr? Because we ARE allowed to know who wants to live our house. --173.28.xx.xxx

--184.56.xx.xxx

But with that in mind, my credit score requirement is based on the average of the pooled scores. If there is a huge spread in credit scores, how that family views money may vary greatly. --24.101.xxx.xxx

Yeah, I don't question what a family is either. Like I said, whether they are married or not is not a criteria for getting accepted. But another reason why we determine whether they are married is that if they are, then we only need one name/address/phone number for their emergency contact. (This is also the case if the tenants are siblings). But if they are not married we get separate emergency contacts for each tenant. --184.56.xx.xxx

A guy who works a dead end job that makes three times rent plus his buddy who sleeps on the couch that’s an alcoholic plus his buddy who sleeps on the floor who is a junkie does not make up a family. Sorry, gentlemen. --174.240.xxx.xx

Just another of many laws and rules that go unknown. --107.147.xx.xx

NE- Who cares?, play the game,makes it more fun when you screw with them --138.197.xx.xxx

Ken, what do you mean? I will certainly let that group of deadbeats apply. One working, one alcoholic and one a junkie. Once all applications are in and paid for, I make it a game with myself to figure out who’s going to be the easiest one to disqualify And start there. Doesn’t usually take long. --174.240.xxx.xx

I agree that is not a family but dont get upset if they want to call themselves a family, then thy wonder why they cant function.Let them apply and charge them like you said. say anything to them and you set yourself up for a complaint to fair housing people,just keeping taking there money --138.197.xx.xxx

Ken I agree 100% and that’s how I’ve done it for many years. I certainly don’t deny them for playing pretend. --174.249.xx.xx