Legal number of non relatives living in one house

[David Elefant]

Hey guys I'm a rental real estate newbie and while listening to a podcast I heard someone talking about how they were dealing with an issue in Oregon related to the number of non relatives he had living in one house. I was wondering if this is a real concern and if so, does anyone know the legal number of non relatives that can be living under one roof, specifically in the area of Syracuse New York? And what about if it is one house that has been legally split into a dual occupancy? Does that make it a two unit complex, and how would that affect the legal number of non relatives?

[Nathan Gesner]

Oregon is different than New York. You need to research your local laws and what they allow.

Occupancy limits are legal...unless prohibited by state/local laws or done in a manner that violates Fair Housing. This includes "disparate impact" which 99% of the readers on this board have probably never heard of.

If you intend to limit the number of "unrelated" occupants, I recommend you study the "U plus 2" law in Fort Collins, Colorado. They have a pretty good policy that I've implemented in my rentals.

If anyone questions whether occupancy standards are allowed, read the HUD Keating Memo or talk to you local HUD office. Be very careful that you implement a policy that is justifiable and equally applied without impacting a class protected by Fair Housing.