The owner of the rental property I manage wants to limit the number of people who can live in the property. Will such a policy violate fair-housing laws?
Possibly. A property owner who tries to impose limits on families with children may be violating fair-housing laws that protect familial status.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says an occupancy policy of two people per bedroom can be reasonable, but other factors should be considered, including the size and number of bedrooms, the age of the children, and the configuration of the unit.
You should ensure that your occupancy policy is consistent and applies to all occupants and rental applicants. For example, you can’t refuse to rent to one family because they have children or demand that a tenant with a baby on the way move to a larger unit.
I think the situation really gets complicated when you have a 4 bedroom home, mom, dad, 4 kids. and, oh by the way, my brother will also be coming with his girlfriend, her child and her mother that takes care of the child. So now we have 5 adults and 5 kids. Still manageable. They can sleep in the dining room and den. Pretty soon after they move in, here come a few aunts, uncles and cousins, supposedly all “related”. Now this is in the unmanageable realm, the neighbors are complaining about all the noise, people are parking on the… Read more »
Using the HUD standards listed above, this hypothetical 4 bedroom home could house 8 persons. In regards to the hypothetical gaggle of pets that you mentioned above … this could have been avoided by putting in a pet limit and weight limit ahead of time.
It is in the lease contract, which people break constantly.
I totally agree with you. I encountered large families trying to rent one bedroom apartments…no. I believe that space is necessary for the well being of the children. If two bunk beds cant fit in the room, then I know that the bedroom is too small to accommodate 4 children in one bedroom. Cmom’ must be a rule on Health of what is considered acceptable. I don’t see Public Housing given out vouchers for a two bedroom house for a family of 8 – So there must be a limit on occupants per bedroom. Kitchen does not constitute a bedroom,… Read more »
Children of certain age & opposite sex must be in separate bedrooms, & not sleeping with their parent, what I was told at apartments, last week.
Don’t make it a family thing. 2 people per bedroom. Period. Don’t say anything about age or gender.
9 times out of 10 it’s because those people can not get approved / or dont want to pay processing fees so they are sneaking them in. Especially undocumented indivisionals who are relocating, which is causing major concerns, Remember tenants, Neighbors talk and call HOA to investigate and report back to homeowners, know if it is reported others living there, the homeowner has right to contact authorities & demand immediate move-out of All people Not on contract , landlord has right, and all children they are not listed on contract as well. Isn’t this correct or is this incorrect
Can you limit one person for a small studio apt?
However, what about tenant(s) renting 3 bdrm, claiming he/she have only have 2 children, opposite sex & then 2 wks after movein, additional adult & kids move in, and additional adults (18+), but fail notify landlord that additional adults are apparently living there, more than 10/20 days allowed on contract, doesnt landlord have right to evict them? This is happening all over ( multiple families living in same home with several adults not on contract) – schools are having issues with multiple families living IN SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING.
It is crazy that a property owner cannot place a 4 person limit for a 1500 square foot 3 / 2 home wjthout potentially running afoul with HUD housing laws. Could a property owner price in wear and tear by charging one price for 4 persons and a higher price for 5 persons and then another price still for 6 persons?
If the property happens to be on a septic system and not city sewer, a high occupant count poses a strain on the septic system as well as the number of bathrooms.
Not sure why all these questions are even being brought up. IF you use the TAR Lease and Application, this is all covered. The application asks who will be living at the property. The lease contains a paragraph to list out the names and ages of all occupants. There is another paragraph that limits the number of days that “guests” may stay. Lying on the application by not listing everyone means the tenant is in default. Moving people in who are not listed on the lease means the tenant is in default. This has nothing to do with fair housing… Read more »
I thought it is clear in the lease agreement the names of the people who will be living on the premises,, their age and how they are related to each other. the agreement states any new visitors should be allowed specific period of time, usually few weeks to stay without landlord’s notification . After that ,landlord should be notified otherwise tenants will be subject to eviction. Any additional people wanting to live in the property have to be approved by landlord through application and background check and it is up to the landlord to accept them or not. This has… Read more »