Have a studio apartment for rent. One large open room with a kitchen and bath.

Got an inquiry from an international student who will be going to the local university.

Did not specifically state in the ad "single occupancy", however, utilities are included and for a single, it's perfect. There are no walls to divide rooms, so for 2, there would be no other rooms to go to and lack any privacy.

Student asked about "guest" policy. There is a policy stating that you need to let your roommates know if you have a guest over,(if you indeed do have roommates.) Since this is a different residence, I said that she didn't have to ask anyone, as she would be living alone.

It did state however that a guest was someone who only stayed less than 5 nights in the month.

She mentioned she would be arriving around July 23, however, she asked if her "boyfriend" could come from New York on July 20th to be there ahead of time to help get her settled in.

Since she was coming from another country and had no vehicle, it seemed like a workable solution.

She mentioned they hadn't been together in 2 years, and he would help her get settled and since he worked remotely, he would be there (in the apartment) "quite a bit." (those were her words)

I called him for some information and wanted to ask a few questions.

I was under the impression that he resided in NY and was just coming to help her get settled, but he told me he lives in Florida and works remotely and has to go to NY at times for work.

I asked him would he be at the apartment more than 20 days a month, he said yes. This might not be every month, but I was definitely getting the feeling that he would be residing there.

I started questioning her about this and she said that "I told her that the guest rules don't apply to her because she would live there alone".

No, I said, he is still a guest, she just had no roommates to ask.

She said "I don't want you to think I was going to sneak him in" during one of our emails.

She then asked about what the process would be if he resided there. Would there be a rent increase...

Yes, there would be an increase and I would need an application on your boyfriend. She seemed amenable to that, so I sent her the price difference and she wanted to know how I came to that conclusion, as another person in the apartment "wouldn't raise the cost of utilities that much!". hmmm...heat, electricity, washer, dryer....

I was also calculating for the whole year.

Before all this back and forth about the boyfriend, she signed a lease and I got a holding fee.

Just this morning she sent an email stating that she wants to back out of the lease. The increase would be too much for them.

I reposted the ad and already have other inquiries. Won't be hard to rent.

I am curious as to what the original rent price was and the added rent that you quoted her if he stayed with her?

In other words, what was the original amount and what was the added amount?

I'm not a fan on charging different people different amounts of rent, for the same exact type of rental, just because of their circumstances. HOWEVER I have ONE exception.

I have a prime property on the beach in Marina Del Ray. It has a view of the ocean from three sides of the building. I get a lot of applicants from other parts of the country. People that lived hundreds of miles, if not thousands, from a body of water. In the middle of our country. Some of them came to this area to attend college. UCLA or USC.

So they rent either a "Single No Bedroom" or one of my "One bedroom" apartments. The school year starts out warm. Then a few months later it turns cold. And with the winds from the ocean, they can not stay outside for long.

So back in 2000, My No bedroom apartment rented for $1600 per month on a 1 year lease. If the same unit was rented only during the summer, I'd easily get $2200 per month. And the same apartment during the cold spell, rents for $1200, if I"m lucky enough to find someone for that season.

So someone signs a 1 year lease for $1600, them moves away 4 months later and for the next 8 months I get $400 a month less.

Because of this, if someone is not familiar with the weather, I want a bond to cover my losses. Or the applicant need to plop down a 6 month deposit.

Since then, Students are being rejected for lack of income and I no longer take co-signers.

FWIW: I agree / think it was right to let her out. You are "lucky" she wanted out - at least it saved you from having to tell her she was rejected due to the second occupant in a 1-occupant place. And you would need to apologize for YOUR mistake in not making that more clear up front.

What have you learned from this experience? Was this her/his fault, or yours?

I suggest you tighten up your processes for filling vacancies. Be clear right up front regarding occupancy (& animal) restrictions.

Jo,

Me? I cannot control their love life so we just price the home based on 2 occupants.

Don’t worry about a studio providing privacy - “studio” means no bedroom door.

We have a TINY studio that only fits a twin bed. Lover and two dogs occupy it.