Roomate All 3 on lease, 2 want 1 to go

[majrsr]

A husband and wife rent an apartment from me on a month-to-month and have lived there for a number of years. Four years ago they asked permission to put a friend of theirs on the rental agreement as a co-tenant. I agreed and had all three of them sign a new rental agreement. Now the married couple want the friend to move out because of his less-than-hygenic habits, but they haven't told him about it yet because they weren't sure how to go about it and neither am I. There is no problem with late rent and none of them have ever caused any problems. I like all three people and am not sure how to handle this. As far as I know, I can't evict just one tenant when there have been no problems having him as a tenant. Should I tell the couple that they will just have to ask him to leave and hope that he'll do so without a problem? If he balks at the idea of moving, what then? Thank you so much for your help.

 

[mightymoose]

I'd let the couple explain to the friend that they are ready for him to move along. They can give any reason they like. Maybe they want more privacy?
The couple can also assist with moving expenses to help move things along.

 

[majrsr]

Thank you so much for your reply. I gather then that my assumption is correct regarding the owner/landlord (me) not having the ability to evict just one co-tenant on the rental agreement.

Actually, I'm rather relieved about that as I really didn't want to get involved in their domestic problems. And I like your suggestion regarding a reason they might give him, since lack of privacy probably does enter into their feelings about his being there. Thank you again.