She will be 69 in October and has been in excellent health until the past two years when she developed significant problems with her back and she does not have any mental ones, she can drive but no longer has a vehicle and I don't know if she plans to get another...she is staying with us in my home for the moment but this is not optimal for her and she likes this idea of mine in any event so I'm trying to get some topical clarification about this, I don't want to do a sublease or a separate contract outside of the primary lease other than the roommate agreeing to follow the house rules as dictated by the primary tenant on a lease which they will share and she controls which bedroom she gets at any point.
PS: I had to laugh at the indentured servitude comment and I guess I invited it by using that title but this is not that bad (fortunately).
What were her living arrangement before that?
The clarification is this. Bad, bad idea. Once the roommate moves in there is no piece of paper in the world that will guarantee the roommate's compliance with the rules. Once the problems start you will have a b-tch of a time getting the roommate out and your mother will be stuck paying for a two bedroom apartment.
I suggest you abandon the roommate idea. It's a recipe for disaster. Hell, if it was me I wouldn't want a stranger living in my house with me. I'm 72 and the idea gives me the heebie jeebies.
By the way, no landlord in his right mind would get involved in this other than to have both parties sign the lease jointly and not care what arrangement they made between them.
An alternative would be to find her a one bedroom apartment near you so you can help out. And if she can't get around because of her back, well, there are plenty of stores that can deliver groceries and whatever, as well as things that can be ordered on line for delivery. She can also hire bonded cleaning companies to come in and clean for her. There are so many ways of handling this, without a roommate, so that she is still independent.
For the longest time she stayed with a friend but this friend of hers ran off with a male companion and that was that...but thanks for all the information and prompt responses which were definitely worth reading.