Roommate wants to move GF in

[dragonwalker]

I have a 2B2B condo where I live in the suburbs near Los Angeles in 1 bedroom and my room mate lives in the other. My room mate has been my first tenant since I bought the place 3.5 years ago and has been here ever since. He's very low maintenance, goes home almost every weekend, doesn't use the washer/dryer,  almost never cooks, pays rent on time ($1100/mth), keeps to himself, doesn't have any parties, and is a pharmacist.

He's had a long term girlfriend that over the last few years has come over occasionally and stayed a few nights a week at most, seems nice and quiet and I haven't minded. I have noticed she's over more in the last few months.

Over the last few years I ended up getting engaged and this past month got married. I'm basically only at my place 2 days a week, most weeks. My partner has her own home and we were thinking sometime next year that I would move over to her place full time and rent out my entire unit.

Just today, my room mate mentioned his girlfriend is also finishing up pharmacy school and found a job kind of nearby and he asked if it were possible for his girlfriend to live with him in his room. We talked and he suggested paying an additional $200 per month. I tentatively agreed with the idea in theory but said I would get back to him on the exact amount. He said her living here would mean the washer and dryer would probably see regular usage and that there would be more cooking. My unit HOA covers water so there would just be an increase in gas and electricity. They like using the AC/heater so I know that will go up.

I looked around my place and 1 bedrooms/studios are typically going for $2000+ but I did see some one offs a few hundred less. Similar places around where his girlfriend would work are a few hundred less. A few questions. What would be a fair price to charge for his girlfriend to live here? What do you think would be the maximum I could charge for them to probably still stay? This changes a little bit what I might do regarding renting out my entire place because if I get enough than I might not rent my entire unit and have somewhere to conveniently drive in to work 2 days a week. Otherwise it's 1+hour each way from my wife's home. My entire unit could probably be rented out for around $2500.

Whatever price we agree to, should I write up a new lease with him and his girlfriend or just collect extra? We currently have a month to month lease signed up. I usually raise rent every year 3% in May and I was thinking whatever new price we agree to would reset the clock on the annual raise. I was thinking maybe some combination of extra + some portion of the gas and electric to keep that usage in check. Together that can range from $70 - $175 currently   

[FINate]

If you've run the numbers and it would be a good rental then I would offer the entire unit to them for $2500 (or whatever fair market value is) and move in with your spouse. This should include putting all utilities in their name. If that's more than they want to pay then rent to someone else. I don't see why you would need to personally subsidize two pharmacists with below market rent and/or maintain an infrequently utilized second residence.

If it's not a good rental then sell it.

[dragonwalker]

The thing is, with work still out in this direction I'm here 2 nights a week and I wouldn't be moving out to live with my spouse full time until the new year anyway due to other things I'm wrapping up in the area and his girlfriend is going to be staying more starting in the next month or so and I don't want to be stuck in a situation where she's here anyway and I don't get the benefit of more rent. I'm leaning toward saying yes and then sometime into next year when I've decided to move over fully then I can end the rental with my roommate and girlfriend. I would offer them first dibs and maybe a slight discount from market but I doubt they will take it as it's more than they need.

If I do that, should I officially add her onto a new lease?

[Mustache ride]

I agree with FINate. Either way, you should definitely add them to the lease.

[uniwelder]

This is a short term problem, and I personally wouldn't try milking every dollar out of the situation.  OP needs (wants?) a place to sleep 8x month, it sounds like maintaining a room in the condo for himself is worth at least $500/month.  How much would it cost to Airbnb a place that's a short distance to work, with a recurring agreement?  Would the two of them take the place for $2,000/month or even $1,600, with you visiting twice a week? 

Just because the current roommate is no fuss, don't assume it'll stay that way once the GF moves in.  How well do you know her? [I see you answered this in the original posting] Just because you don't think they would want such a big place (2 bedroom condo), doesn't mean they won't start finding ways to fill all that space.  If she cooks and does laundry, you might find she also wants to decorate and buy furniture like most people do.  Where I live, my (2) 700 sq ft, two bedroom homes are often looked at by young couples as just barely big enough.

As for putting the GF on the lease, I would say yes.  There might be more advantages to keeping it only in one person's name, but it's the right thing to do.  She ought to be advocating for that anyway, since she wouldn't have much recourse (without legal action) if there's a breakup and the current roommate kicks her out.  Having said that, about half of the tenants I've rented to that moved in together for the first time broke up within the first year.  Legally, I suppose it depends on the state, since you have knowledge that she would be living there full time, so she might have legal rights anyway, regardless of whether she is on the lease.

[reeshau]

Why does this have to be one step?  See if they are interested in renting the whole place starting next year.  Tell them why you aren't ready to do that immediately, but that is where you are heading.

Then, frame the current request as it is--a short-term arrangement.  With that in mind, everyone will be a little more tolerant of the change; it's not forever.

Maybe they start decorating with their things.  Could you handle that?  It's not them stepping on your toes.  They are preparing for it to be their place.

Whatever arrangement you come for a change in rent for the temporary state, get them both to sign it.  And sign for the permanent arrangement next year.  Saves you the advertising / agent cost, and lets them plan for their next step.

It seems like a golden opportunity dropping in your lap.  With four months' notice that it will happen.  Win-win.

[clarkfan1979]

I have a 2B2B condo where I live in the suburbs near Los Angeles in 1 bedroom and my room mate lives in the other. My room mate has been my first tenant since I bought the place 3.5 years ago and has been here ever since. He's very low maintenance, goes home almost every weekend, doesn't use the washer/dryer,  almost never cooks, pays rent on time ($1100/mth), keeps to himself, doesn't have any parties, and is a pharmacist.

He's had a long term girlfriend that over the last few years has come over occasionally and stayed a few nights a week at most, seems nice and quiet and I haven't minded. I have noticed she's over more in the last few months.

Over the last few years I ended up getting engaged and this past month got married. I'm basically only at my place 2 days a week, most weeks. My partner has her own home and we were thinking sometime next year that I would move over to her place full time and rent out my entire unit.

Just today, my room mate mentioned his girlfriend is also finishing up pharmacy school and found a job kind of nearby and he asked if it were possible for his girlfriend to live with him in his room. We talked and he suggested paying an additional $200 per month. I tentatively agreed with the idea in theory but said I would get back to him on the exact amount. He said her living here would mean the washer and dryer would probably see regular usage and that there would be more cooking. My unit HOA covers water so there would just be an increase in gas and electricity. They like using the AC/heater so I know that will go up.

I looked around my place and 1 bedrooms/studios are typically going for $2000+ but I did see some one offs a few hundred less. Similar places around where his girlfriend would work are a few hundred less. A few questions. What would be a fair price to charge for his girlfriend to live here? What do you think would be the maximum I could charge for them to probably still stay? This changes a little bit what I might do regarding renting out my entire place because if I get enough than I might not rent my entire unit and have somewhere to conveniently drive in to work 2 days a week. Otherwise it's 1+hour each way from my wife's home. My entire unit could probably be rented out for around $2500.

Whatever price we agree to, should I write up a new lease with him and his girlfriend or just collect extra? We currently have a month to month lease signed up. I usually raise rent every year 3% in May and I was thinking whatever new price we agree to would reset the clock on the annual raise. I was thinking maybe some combination of extra + some portion of the gas and electric to keep that usage in check. Together that can range from $70 - $175 currently

If it was me, I would calculate the average utility bill of the last 12 months. I would ask for $200 + the amount over the average monthly utility bill.

I would add her name to the lease and actually change the language to say both are responsible for the entire $1300/month + extra utilities. They can figure it out between themselves how much they each pay.

I would also be honest about your plans that you want to execute in about 4 months. Once you move out, if market rent is truly $2500/month, do not rent it to them for less than $2400/month. There are many good renters out there. They are not the only good renters. 

[spartana]

OP you also need to check Calif very strict  tenent laws or you may end up entraping yourself with very low paying tentents for a long term. Things like a law that says you cannot raise the rent by more than 10% when adding a new roommate.

"Yes, California landlords can increase rent when adding roommates, but there are some restrictions:
 
Los Angeles
Landlords can increase rent by 10% for each additional tenant. However, annual rent increases in Los Angeles are limited to 8% and landlords can only raise the rent once a year."

And eviction laws are even stronger in favor of tenants - including roommates.  It is very hard to both raise prices to FMV if you've been renting to someone cheaply and to evict someone just to increase price. So I'd make sure your roommate as well as GF are on a "roommate" rental agreement along with you as a tenant/landlord rather than as regular lease. That should make it easier to increase rents or to boot them out once you move out yourself..

If it were me I wouldn't do it. I'd just say no to GF moving in (you don't know what it'll be like and you have very limited recourse if it's terrible) and say she's allowed to stay over 3 nights a week or whatever. This was what my own rental agreement had written into it, and many say no overnight guests at all, which is perfectly legal, and protects you from having to legally rent to someone who stays over too often or just moves in (people are considered tenants with full legal rights to remain in a property if they  have lived there for 30 days and must be added to a lease).

As for social issues - yeah I'd have a problem with another person sharing my house even if I was only there part time. It could be very impactful if the GF is loud or assertive or wanted to constantly have people over and parties etc. Or she become pregnant or her family member needs a place to crash or....well lots of ors.

[uniwelder]

OP you also need to check Calif very strict  tenent laws or you may end up entraping yourself with very low paying tentents for a long term...

This is all very interesting to hear.  Lots of valuable information.  I'm glad I live in a very landlord friendly state.

[spartana]

OP you also need to check Calif very strict  tenent laws or you may end up entraping yourself with very low paying tentents for a long term...

This is all very interesting to hear.  Lots of valuable information.  I'm glad I live in a very landlord friendly state.

Yes I wouldn't want to be a landlord in Calif! Very tenant friendly.

In the OPs case, since he is the owner and resides in the property, his roommate has less legal rights then a co-tenant  roommate who have equal rights and financial onligations.  His roommate is considered a "lodger" and its easier to make them move out. But we have a bunch of new tenant rights laws in 2024 so that may have changed. Im sure it's not an issue but can be a PITA if roommate or second roommate (GF) tries to fight him on raising the rent or eviction. 

 "Can I remove a lodger?
In a home with multiple lodgers, lodgers generally have the same rights as regular tenants.However, if there is only one lodger in a house, the owner can evict the lodger without using formal eviction proceedings. The owner can simply give the lodger written notice that the lodger cannot continue to use the room or space. The amount of notice must be the same as required for any other periodic tenancy (30-60 days, depending on the situation).

After the applicable time period has expired, the lodger has no further right to remain in the owner’s house. The owner may have police remove the lodger as a trespasser if they refuse to leave.3 However, if the lodger disputes their status as a lodger, this may require the owner to use formal eviction proceedings."

ETA: The roommate/s automatically becomes a tenant once the owner moves out and then the owners needs to abide by tenant rent increase and/or eviction laws in Calif

[Villanelle]

We recently sold a CA rental property and while there were many factors, CA's rental laws and requirements were one factor.

It caries by jurisdiction, but in ours, we would have had to pay twice the monthly rent (IIRC) just to end the rental.  That's not in order to break the lease.  That's just to say, "hey, I want to sell this property [or move in myself, or have my family member move in, or any other reason you won't continue renting it to the current tenant]."  That's even if they don't have a lease and are month to month.  We'd have had to pay that.  We lucked out and when we let them know we'd be selling, they found another place so they could be sure to stay in the same school district and gave us notice.  Since they moved out, rather than us booting them, we didn't have to pay. 

IDK if this applies to lodgers or just tenants.  And if I remember correctly, CA only requires 1 month of "displacement" compensation, but our county added a second for good measure, so check your specific locality. 

This is an example of why I think landlording in CA is becoming a fools errand, especially when you compare rent rates to what you can get for selling.  (Our townhouse sold for just over $900k.  we probably could have rented for about $3900.  Thats about .4%, or absolute crap in terms of rental properties.  We'd owned it a long time so we were making money, but the opportunity cost of that $900k was far more than we were making.  When you add the risks--the general risks of landlord, the extra risks thanks to CA's tenant-friendly rules, the increasing insurance costs, the risk of natrual and semi-natural disasters--well, I breathed a huge sigh of relief the day we closed escrow. 

[spartana]

We recently sold a CA rental property and while there were many factors, CA's rental laws and requirements were one factor.

It caries by jurisdiction, but in ours, we would have had to pay twice the monthly rent (IIRC) just to end the rental.  That's not in order to break the lease.  That's just to say, "hey, I want to sell this property [or move in myself, or have my family member move in, or any other reason you won't continue renting it to the current tenant]."  That's even if they don't have a lease and are month to month.  We'd have had to pay that.  We lucked out and when we let them know we'd be selling, they found another place so they could be sure to stay in the same school district and gave us notice.  Since they moved out, rather than us booting them, we didn't have to pay. 

IDK if this applies to lodgers or just tenants.  And if I remember correctly, CA only requires 1 month of "displacement" compensation, but our county added a second for good measure, so check your specific locality. 

This is an example of why I think landlording in CA is becoming a fools errand, especially when you compare rent rates to what you can get for selling.  (Our townhouse sold for just over $900k.  we probably could have rented for about $3900.  Thats about .4%, or absolute crap in terms of rental properties.  We'd owned it a long time so we were making money, but the opportunity cost of that $900k was far more than we were making.  When you add the risks--the general risks of landlord, the extra risks thanks to CA's tenant-friendly rules, the increasing insurance costs, the risk of natrual and semi-natural disasters--well, I breathed a huge sigh of relief the day we closed escrow.

I'm in the process of deciding whether to rent or buy in Calif and so if I rent I'll probably be happy with the tenant friendly laws! Definitely wouldn't want to be a landlord here though.

OP You mentioned above that your roommate "goes home" every weekend and is only there Monday to Weds or Thursday night. How will that play out with a GF living there? Will he stop going home (Im assuming to his parents not his wife) or will GF be living there alone during the weekends? Will roommate be there all weekend once GF moves in? How will that impact you and what sorts of additional cost can you expect?

Also how often does your wife stay there? Never? Sometimes? Is she OK with the situation?