'No Overnight Guests" rule on rental postings?

Question

I find this "no overnight guests" listing on rental postings interesting.

Granted, most of these ads are for roommates, not single-family dwellings.
Still, it brings me to a few questions.

1) If you've had roommates, do you have a "no overnight guests" rule?
Is it to avoid people bringing home hook-ups from bars? Is it to avoid a boyfriend/girlfriend moving in? Is it to stay under the occupancy limit, avoid more utilities, have more space for paying roommates? If you don't have a rule, do you not care who else stays at your dwelling so long as someone pays? In college houses, my experience is that people usually didn't care who slept in an apartment, so long as someone paid for each room. I'm guessing people with the 'no overnight guest' rule are older.

2) If you rent out single-family units, can you even have such a rule? And, why would you? Is it to make sure no non-listed tenants move in? Is it just a rule on paper to possibly avoid some liability for the additional person, without enforcing the occupancy rule? I know more people living in a property can cause more wear/tear, utilities, etc. But, is such a rule allowed and why?

What if you have a person "living" / sleeping there during the day? Someone with a night job could still move in and skirt the no overnight rule.

I've heard of a "max occupancy" rule where someone staying over 2 weeks straight has to be on the lease and pay rent. That makes more sense.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Not good.....but had a thought; Is this a "posting" like a sign in the entry or outside? As long as you make it clear that guests are allowed, it might be welcomed by a tenant, I'm thinking some college girls as tenants when the boys want to stay over to study, you know, wearing out the welcome, they could point to the sign, smile and say, Oh sorry, you can't stay! Keeps strays from getting drunk and staying over too, you gotta go! Maybe not such a bad idea.....LOL, But don't think a tenant doesn't have a right to have guests, they could then say....Oh, that's my landlord's thing but it's okay, you can stay here tonight, I'll call him and leave a message (just incase they need to rely on the sign later on). Ha Ha Ha

Karen Margrave · Answer

Michelle Marty good luck with trying to enforce that in a court of law. Personally I think anyone that has such rules has no business being in the real estate rental business.

Jon K. · Answer

David T. Wow, an apartment complex having a 'no overnight guest' rule is a bit much indeed. I could see limits, but none when living alone? Michelle Marty Several areas I've lived in have had limits of rules like yours. One area I lived in had fair housing being 2 max per room plus one. So, a 2 bedroom apartment could have 5 people, tops. It's a good thing our areas allow max occupancy. I support some limits on housing for sure. Nobody wants to live next door to an apartment that has, say, 12 people living in a 2 bedroom. Or, a house that has 10 people. Too much noise. Too many cars. Fire hazard risks. Parties, fights, and all sorts of non-sense that neighbors shouldn't be subjected to. That many people can cause plenty of problems for neighbors and landlords alike. The amount of noise, cars, and general disturbance from so many people generally sucks. In fact, my college neighbor had about 6 people-- 3 couples-- living in a small 2 bedroom. Their lease was not renewed as they were in violation of max occupancy, and I was happy. There was a constant noise disturbance from them with parties, fights, and general coming- and-going of that many people. Plus, all their cars made parking a pain for the rest of us. For homeowners with large families, it's different. A family can buy a house and have 10 of their own kids and live there if they own it. The difference in my area is with rentals. My local fair housing limits how many kids per apartment. You couldn't put 10 kids in a 1 or even 2 bedroom rental here. That's a fire risk, and a noise nightmare. Not my rule, but I support it for rental properties. It's the "no overnight guests ever" rule in a single-family rental dwelling that I don't quite understand. I do understand max occupancy limits for rentals, but I think a family should be able to let someone visit at some point so long as it's not "bills paid" and they don't become a regular tenant in the rental. With roommates, after some googling horror stories of unpaying "extra" roommates where bum boyfriends/girlfriends moved in without paying, I think I understand the "no overnight guests" with roommates now. It seems that some people put "no overnight guests" in their roommate rental listings to say "no couples/no kids." I can't imagine a roommate wanting to live with either, so I think a roommate should be able to limit how many people they are willing to share their dwelling with.

Karen Margrave · Answer

I know there are areas where the local authorities set regulations on property owners to discourage boarding houses and vacation rentals. In those cases where it is an actual ordinance, of course you have to obey the laws. However; most areas do not have such ordinances, and therefore; you'd have a hard time trying to enforce it on a private single family residence (that's what I was referencing). However; if a property is zoned for boarding houses, etc. then obviously you have to go by the local zoning regulations. In fact, when we moved to southern California from northern California, we rented out rooms in our 4600 sq. ft. house and 2100 sq. ft. guest house on 20 acres, to 14 college aged girls from around the world, that were students in a ministry school. It worked out well. Personally, I don't know how citizens in a community allow the government to take control of their property away from them to such a degree, you'd think property owners would band together and stop that overreaching action, last I checked this still was America.

David Turner · Answer

In my younger days I lived in an apartment in Denver that had a "no overnight guests" rule that required approval from the property management. I had numerous guests stay overnight without approval, but I hadn't noticed the clause in my lease until I was moving out. The apartment had all sorts of strict rules like that. Part of the reason I decided to move.

Michelle Marty · Answer

Karen M. What exactly should I be worried about enforcing in court? The property that I am referencing 2 per bedroom IS THE LAW and each guest staying no longer than two weeks (at a time) is very standard for my area.

Jon K. · Answer

Michelle Marty I've heard of a rule of unrelated persons and 10 day (or 2 week) stays too. I think a longer rule to not have additional tenants not listed on the lease is a good idea, especially if to stay within local max occupancy limits. Not sure how you would notice if they had more visitors than listed, but at least you don't end up with 5 permanently moving into to a room. In my area, there are max occupancy limits per room too. The limits on occupancy in my area are fairly gracious, so most people here don't care/mention it. Like I said, this "rule" is what I've seen in online rental postings. I have no idea if people post such a sign on the property-- I'm guessing they don't. That would be weird, in my opinion. For those with a roommate situation, I'm guessing the roommate could impose such a rule in a lease if it's their property. Renting a room sounds more like a rooming/boarding house. I once rented a room where the landlord said "no overnight guests." That rule didn't bother me since I was just renting a room in their property. More people = more utilities, and the room I rented was "bills paid." I didn't like some of that landlord's other rules, but since they lived there, I figured they could make whatever rules they wanted. I suppose those posting that 'rule' online are wanting to avoid awkward morning after hookups if roommates, or limit utility costs in roommate/bills paid situations. Maybe it's a way to say "no couples, no kids" without saying that directly. Anyone own college town "rooming" houses? Do you end up with more tenants than on the lease? What about those of you who have had roommates in the past?

Bill Gulley · Answer

Doesn't matter what kind of property it is, assuming single or multi family rentals, (not nursing homes, elder care, church properties, transit housing, etc.). You need to look up "quiet enjoyment" every state has it as a basic tenant right. You can't tell them they can't have a guest, mom and dad spend the weekend or even drag someone home from a bar. Doing so, you'll lose, so long as guests are human. :) Tenancy is determined locally, here if they have furniture there, they are not guests, if they hand clothing, more than a traveler might have, they may be a tenant. Some places have time of visits, 3, 5, 15 30 days of consequtive stays and must be gone for a period of time before starting the clock again. There are exceptions but none the common landlord type will rely on. Basically, any tenant has the right to have guests just as you do.

Michelle Marty · Answer

I know in Indiana they have a law that goes something like no more than 8 women who are unrelated are allowed to live in the same house. In all of my rentals I cap the occupancy at 2 per room and I have the no guests allowed for more than 2 weeks in a single year. I would think the no over night guests would be to prevent those awkward morning after hook ups. Just my thoughts.