Is society open-minded enough to embrace intergenerational roommates?

While landlords search for renters, should renters open their own vetting process?

Photo credit: (from left) Any Lane/Pexels, (middle) RODNAE Productions/Pexels; (right) Olha Ruskykh/Pexels

Imagine you’re a landlord, and you’re looking for a new tenant. Out of these three photos above, who are you most likely to want in your unit. To put it bluntly, I’d lean away from the duo in the bottom pic because they look too young to have much of a credit history. I’ve also heard enough loud kids running up and down my condo deck to be hesitant about the family in the top photo. I’ve also been neighbors with enough single women (me included) to see a rotation of people going in and out of their doors, and too often parties were loud and disruptive. But does the woman in yellow (middle pic) look more like she’d party at all hours of the night or challenge you to bicep curls in the gym? I would choose her regardless.

Prejudices aside, let’s imagine all three sets of adults have the exact same credit score and a great rental reputation. Does it make a difference to you? Do you still have your favorite?

Recommended Read: “The downside of making your condos available for rent ~ Does your condo feel like an apartment with more rules?”

OK, now let’s imagine that these are not the tenants you’ll end up with. Let’s say the woman in yellow (middle pic) is roommates with the lady in the turtleneck (bottom pic). They’re not mother and daughter, just roommates. Or, let’s say that the lady sitting on the flatbed (top pic) is moving in with the guy in the brown jacket (also in the top pic). Again, they’re not related, just roommates. Would it matter to you if your tenants’ ages were decades apart? Are intergenerational roommates providing more stability?

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