Is there a catch if the tenant changes the roomate?

[multiroger]

I am a new landlord and have signed a written lease agreement with 3 tenants. However, there is only one guy on the lease as the "Tenant". His girlfriend and his friend are on "Occupants" list, as I treat it as subletting tenants.

They have paid the rent on time since July. However, they have started to ask for some repair here and there. I hope I am not too sensitive but just try to be more cautious. Anyway, back to the topic, to make the long story short, they are changing the roomate but the new roomate`s credit is bad. What worries me is whether the new roomate will give me any trouble if he is not in the lease`s Tenant list? The new roomate has not moved in, but I am thinking to update the lease agreement to change the occupant list to include the new roomate, and have him to sign and agree to abide by all the rules I set up in the lease, just like I have had the guy`s girlfriend sign as well. If I get the new roomate`s signature that he will follow the rules, i.e. pay the rent on time, inform me if there are more occupants, and respect other tenants, etc. Is that sufficient to protect me or is there any catch here?

I know many members are experienced veteran so any advice would be appreciated

 

[invst4profit]

It depends on which province you are in. Not Ontario I hope.

 

[multiroger]

QUOTE (invst4profit @ Dec 21 2009, 03:20 PM) It depends on which province you are in. Not Ontario I hope.

It IS Ontario. What should I do now to prevent anything bad happen ....

 

[invst4profit]

Tell them they will all have to sign a new lease with all of there names on it as official tenants.
The most important thing you need to do is properly screen any potential tenant.
In Ontario all occupants of a unit become legal tenants after 30 days occupancy regardless of who is or isn`t on the lease. There does not even need to be a signed lease for tenants/occupants to be legal tenants with all the rights and protection of the RTA.
What you need is a lease spelling out how much the rent is, who is responsible to pay, when is it due, if utilities are included etc.
The screening process should gather together all info required on each individual to allow you to evict, file claims in small claims court and garnish wages.

By the way there is nothing you can do , beyond thorough screening, to prevent bad things from happening.