Have you set an occupancy limit on your rentals?

Question

I received an inquiry from someone wanting to view a 1bed/1bath apartment with 452 sq.ft. It's very clearly labeled and described, plus the pictures make it clear that it's a small apartment. Here's the kicker: her and her husband have six children. They wanted to put eight people in a 1bed/1bath apartment!

When I shared my occupancy standards, clearly written on my web site and applied to all equally, she accused me of discriminating against her children. She called HUD, other REALTORS, and then sent me a very long, rambling email that included this gem:

As a former foster parent, father of three adopted children, and foster parent trainer for Dept. of Family Services, I feel slightly qualified to discuss living space requirements. For example, in the State of Wyoming there is a limit of four children in one bedroom and the room must be large enough that each of them can have their own bed and some closet space. But this woman wanted six children and two adults sleeping in one bedroom! And this doesn't even start to address the requirements of separating children by gender or any of the other issues.

So my question to you is: do you have an occupancy limit for your rentals? If so, is it in writing and available for applicants to see?

Andrew Carlson · Answer

@Nathan G.

Providing housing for the people of Wyoming, adopting children, training foster parents. YOU are the reason this country is great, sir!

Theresa Harris · Answer

I can't see how 8 people would fit into a 450 sq ft place.  It would be tight for a couple and one kid.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Good advice. I'm in a small city in Wyoming so occupancy standards do not exist. ;)

Jerry W. · Answer

@Nathan G., I am slightly embarrassed that I have never set limits on my rentals.  There is a prohibition of discriminating against people having children, but I have never said no children in an add or in person.  I do ask who will be living there and my lease is very specific that they must list the name and age of every occupant, and it does not allow the addition of another tenant without permission.  All adults must be approved in advance.  I sometimes get lazy on checking out the new adult as carefully as the first adults to rent.  To be honest I have more problems with parties splitting up as I do with new adults coming in.  I do hate adult children moving in, it rarely works out.

Steve K. · Answer

@Nathan G. Thanks for your post and sharing the link from Rent Prep.

Where I currently operate in PA, our codes dept. has a rule that not more than 4 unrelated person(s) can occupy a unit. This town has less than 4500 population. Is your property town bigger?

It never occurred to me what are the rules in scenario that you recently faced. I need give my local codes a call to find out. Did these prospective really call HUD on you or was it just a treat? Have HUD reached out to you or already closed this bogus discrimination claim. Would love to hear more updates.

Steve Vaughan · Answer

This is the exact reason the first  of my five questions in my ad is how many people. Then how many animals and how much they smoke.  Valuable information.

I use HUD occupancy guidelines.  If the number they say is over, they receive no response.  They don't know the address or my number or who to get mad at.  The ad is rarely up for more than half a day anyway.

One benefit of being a private handyman housing provider I guess is the anonymity.  Would be tougher in your situation for sure.

Brett Lee · Answer

@Nathan G.

It sounds like they were trying to do a bit of a bait-and-switch in regards to what they were looking for. In regards to maximum people her room sometimes it depends on the situation. There is a family in one of my rentals that had three kids when they moved in about 5 or so years ago. They have had two more kids since then which definitely makes their house a bit tight but I know they are trying to buy a house and they're good people so I'm not pushing them out or anything. If they were rude people or were trashing the house or something that might present more of an issue but they're taking good care of it and they're good people.

Tom Fidrych · Answer

So I do cap the number at 2 per bedroom although this situation has only come up once and the people had no problem being turned away. Of coarse, they also had numerous species of pet and sect 8.

Tom Fidrych · Answer

The number likely is covered by state law. In Oregon, you can restrict the unit to no less than 2 people per bedroom.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

My city has about 10,000 but we do not have any occupancy limits within the City, County, or State. I created my own based off guidance from HUD and the Fort Collins, Colorado "You Plus Two" policy. I don't rent to more than three unrelated people, plus a limit of two people per bedroom, plus one additional person.

I also have some rentals in a college town, which resulted in a new policy. It's common for multiple kids to rent a house together with their parents footing the bill. The vast majority of these kids have never lived alone and have no idea how to take care of a house. I got tired of baby-sitting them, dealing with helicopter parents, and all the cleaning/repairs after they moved out. So I now have a policy specifically for college students that says no more than one occupant per bedroom, they can only rent apartments (no houses), and all communication must be through the individuals actually occupying the rental. I just got an earful from a mom wanting to cram her son and three friends into a two-bedroom apartment and she threatened to sue me for discriminating against her child. Whatever. College students and cosigners are not a protected class and I wasn't treating her previous child any different than any other child.

Did she call HUD? I doubt it. Even if she did, my response to her included a copy of HUD policy and I'm sure they would have told her that it's completely legal to refuse to rent a 452 sg.ft., one-bedroom apartment to a family of eight.

Can you charge more for additional occupants? Absolutely. I have an apartment building that includes some small 1-bedroom apartments with utilities included. I charge $650 with utilities included for a single occupant. An additional occupant is an additional $75 because of the extra utility use. I also cap occupancy to two people because the unit is so small. It could be a couple or a single mother with one child. My limitation is based on the size of the unit, not discrimination against people with children.

Have you set an occupancy limit on your rentals?

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