studio apartment with multiple tenants

[Eric Dubrule]

I have a situation where a current tenant wants his girlfriend to move in with him. He called me and said that half her stuff was moved and if it was ok for her to move in. I'm uncomfortable with this as I feel a studio is meant for 1 adult. Can I flat out tell him no or should I provide a reason? I feel even more uncomfortable with the situation because he has told me that the girlfriend is pregnant with his child. This doesn't influence my decision, but I'd like to know how other landlords, especially in Massachusetts, would handle this situation. thanks!

[Colleen F.]

There are usually occupancy limits by the size of a unit. I think in MA it is150 sq ft per person or 150 for the first person and 100 per person thereafter. I don't know otherwise what the limits are for a studio. Aside from that fair housing laws don't let you impose different limits of occupancy. I think with a baby they would be over the square foot limit so look into that now.

Since I reside in MA but am a landlord in RI I don't know the MA situation well. Maybe someone who knows the area can help. Like a lot of landlords I require all adults on the lease and so that I would insist on if she moves in. It gives you better legal leverage.

[Eric Dubrule]

@Colleen F. Thanks for the advice. I let the tenant know I wasn't comfortable with 2 adults in the small studio. He wasn't happy, but problem resolved. thanks and Merry Christimas!

[George Paiva]

Another idea was to charge another $50 and with a stipulation that once baby comes they need to find a much larger place. Put some timelines around it.

[Eric Dubrule]

thanks for the advice. any legal issues with making it a condition that they move out when they have a child? I haven't been around long, but that seems like discrimination.

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

@Eric Dubrule

Are utilities included? Honestly I would leave out the child issue. If it was me I would just say I do not allow roommate due to the size of the place. As they are not married it is simply a roommate issue.

[Darrell Hardy]

I also own multiple 1 bedroom and studio units, I would suggest you do not mention the baby at all as that can lead to fair housing issues. If anything in these situations I just raise the rent to compensate for the extra person. You know your tenant the best so if you like him enough you can allow it, if not tell him no.

[Darrell Shepherd]

Im just curious, why would this be an issue?
You want a credit app and lease if you are going to allow it, but IMO it just strengthens their ability to pay and your ability to collect if they don't or you have to sue for damage. Another $50 /mo may be realistic, need to see what's normal in your market.
I've had a boyfriend with dogs move in and absolutely trash a place, but that was without my knowledge.
Personally, I wouldn't have much issue here, but we don't have a lot of studios around here so maybe Im not grasping how small this thing is.

[Kristopher K.]

@Eric Dubrule , I don't know about Leominster, but one of my properties gets a rental permit every year. At the initial B.O.H. inspection to bring the unit back on-line they determined how many occupants I was allowed.

Good to hear you got it resolved with no issue though.

[Eric Dubrule]

@Elizabeth Colegrove utilities are separate.

My main concern is the added noise a second person would make. This studio is above a commercial tenant that I'm partial to and don't want 2 adults living overhead the offices in a 300sf apartment.

Just an interesting update on this-- The tenant has called me 4 times in the past couple days since I told him his girlfriend couldn't move in. The calls had no real purpose other than to be a bother. Keep an eye out for a post in the eviction threads.. thanks all!

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

@Eric Dubrule

How long has the tenant leased from you? How hard is it to release the apartment.

If you can release the apartment easily without loss of income. I would offer him out of the lease and rent it out to a new person. I would than rerent the space with a clause in the lease that only one person can live in the apartment due to you lease with the commercial client. This way you don't run into this problem again.

[Bill S.]

@Eric Dubrule Know this, she is already living there. He was just asking to formalize it. He told you half her stuff was there. I think you are being overly sensitive unless your commercial tenant has complained. Get a bit more in rent. I would think this would be ideal. Commercial tenant is there when they are gone to work and they are there when commercial tenant is gone to home.

If you are really concerned, perhaps with the addition of a person (change in terms) you could convert to a MTM agreement. When you get out of the winter, give notice or raise rent until they move. I doubt they will feel comfortable in 300 sq ft and will move on their own as soon as they can.

[Derreck Wells]

Sounds like a bad idea to let her in. It's VERY hard to evict in MA and if they can't afford the unit + baby, you're screwed.

@Darrell Shepherd Most studios are about the size of a motel room.

[Shaun Reilly]

I would not be all that open to having 2 people and a baby living in a Studio.

As Derreck they are usually very small around here (I have never seen one much more than 500sqft and <400 is much more the norm). As Colleen was saying you might be pushing the state sanitary code for the number of occupants in the unit.

If you have a lease with him you don't have to let her move in. That being said probably fighting an uphill battle to prove it and to get them evicted, if that is the route you would take. Once she has the baby you can't really refuse to let the kid be there anyway.

[Eric Dubrule]

I have a MTM agreement with HIM. She is living there. He said they need 3 months to find another place. I'll be ready with a notice to quit as soon as I get uncomfortable with the situation. He is a good guy and pays his rent on the first of every month for 2 years. I could get an extra $50 without a problem for his girlfriend as he is pretty entrenched in this apartment. I just can't take a chance with the commercial tenant. It took many years to fill that vacancy(dental office). Having more than 1 adult living in a studio above the waiting room of the dental office seems like a problem waiting to happen, especially if their family grows. That said I'm not excepting the additional payment for her to live there. I told him I expect that she is not living there and in 3 months I'd be calling him to schedule an annual walk through.

[Mike Hurney]

@Eric You may want to help him find a new place if it is the small studio you speak of!

[Robert Adams]

Unless the studio is a closet I don't see a problem with a 2nd adult living there. I do like the idea of charging slightly more for the added tenant though.

[Colleen F.]

It looks like they will be above the occupancy limits when the baby arrives. I would work with him in the short term. I would let him know that you will give him a good rental reference for the time he has lived there. Give him leads if you know of other apartments in the area. The last thing you want is to get a bad relationship going at this point. On the commercial tenant, a dental office is not going to move based on a short term noise problem of tenants walking around above their unit for 3- 6 months. I don't think it is going to be a problem with this type of commercial tenant with two normal people living upstairs unless you know they are drag out fighters...

[Eric Dubrule]

ugh, he has informed me that he will not be leaving and his girlfriend will rent a separate apartment. His unborn child will stay with him part time. Can I give him a 30 day notice to quit or am I looking for trouble with fair housing laws in Massachusetts? I'll need to test for lead and remediate which for obvious reasons I'd like to avoid..

[Shaun Reilly]

Originally posted by @Eric Dubrule:
ugh, he has informed me that he will not be leaving and his girlfriend will rent a separate apartment. His unborn child will stay with him part time. Can I give him a 30 day notice to quit or am I looking for trouble with fair housing laws in Massachusetts? I'll need to test for lead and remediate which for obvious reasons I'd like to avoid..

He is a TAW so you can give him 30 day notice, though as of 3 minutes ago if you didn't already give him notice you are probably looking at 3/1/14 (pretty sure that "30 days" is 31 days in a long month, but serve by Jan 29th to get them out for the end of Feb).

If he contests I'd have a better reason than "I don't want to de-lead if his kid stays there" for court...

[Derreck Wells]

When was the building built? Lead is only an issue if the building was built before 1978.

You do not need to deal with the lead at all. If you gave your tenant the "lead disclosure" in his contract, then I'm pretty sure you're covered. He'd have to move if it's a problem for him.

If there is lead in the apt and tenant figures that out, he can withhold rent until it's remediated. You can not evict him for withholding rent at that point, but he will need to pay in full when the lead issues are fixed.

You can read/download all the lead brochures here...

http://www2.epa.gov/lead/brochures-and-posters

[Eric Dubrule]

Thanks for the info @Derreck Wells . Unfortunately I'm familiar with the lead laws. The first property I purchased (not the one this thread is discussing) I made the sale contingent on lead compliance letters. My real estate agent hired an inspector who did the inspection and produced the letters. I purchased the property, sent the letters to the State to add to their database and got a call back that the inspector was a fraud and the letters were worthless. The re-inspection showed that all 3 units contained lead-- only one of which I needed to remediate due to a child under 6. I ended up deleaded all 3 units and then proceeded to hire an attorney. 6 months and all of my cash reserves later I am still a month or so away from a settlement.

All that said, my thought was that if I deny my tenant's request to have his pregnant girlfriend move in, he'd want to move out. Unfortunately, he has told me that he is staying and his girlfriend is moving to another apartment.

I want to avoid deleading and I want to avoid a family living above a dental office. Am I looking for trouble if I give him a 30 day notice to quit? If this makes it to a Massachusetts Housing Court, do I have a leg to stand on? My feeling is that the fact that a month after telling me his pregnant girlfriend wants to move in and I send him a notice to quit any judge would come to the conclusion my motive was that I didn't want a child in the property...

[Shaun Reilly]

Your best bet is to give him notice and hope he just leaves without causing a problem for you. Play up the feel a studio is only for one person not a family angle to explain.

If he fights it I would not feel great about going to court with this kid stuff and lead paint concerns being out there.

[Mike Hurney]

@Eric Dubrule

"All that said, my thought was that if I deny my tenant's request to have his pregnant girlfriend move in, he'd want to move out. Unfortunately, he has told me that he is staying and his girlfriend is moving to another apartment."

So the issue is that he'll have his kid (under 6), stay in your paint leaded apartment?

@Shaun Reilly I think you're right, if this guy is a problem, give him a 30 day notice.

Massachusetts Lead Laws for Housing are tough but not impossible, do you have a copy of them?