Bedroom Talk
Can a landlord control how many people live in a rental house?
I am in a difficult situation right now, I have 4 kids, I'm getting a divorce and have no where to stay until I get child support lined up...my Aunt offered to let me move in with her, we got the bedroom all set up for me and the kids, and today the landlord (who lives next door) calls and says she changed her mind and we can not move in afterall. Can she do that? Are there renters rights being violated here or not?
Public Comments
- Yes, the landlord can do that. She can require that all adults living there be on the lease, and she doesn't have to agree to put you on the lease. I am guessing that she may have checked local occupancy codes and discovered that your arrangement exceeded allowed occupancy limits. You will need to find other accommodations.
- the landlord can only let so many people into a unit by what the city code says.
- The renter us the only person on the lease, so she's the only one with the right to live there. It's the landlord's property and she doesn't have to allow anything other than what the lease states.
- Yes. She can do that. Check the terms of your aunt's lease. As a practical matter, try negotiating with the landlord. Offer (via your aunt, who is on the lease) to pay a bit more. As a fall-back position, also limit the length of your and the kids' tenancy. And/or offer to increase the security deposit to cover the landlord's legitimate concern about the possible increase in wear and tear from 4 kids. Hope that helps.
- Soz, but as all the above point out it isn't legal. Can your Aunt invite the Harlem Globe Trotters around for the weekend? The renters rights do not allow sub-letting and you can't prove you are or not paying rent regardless.
- A landlord has every right to limit number of people in an existing lease. I'm sure her original lease states one person only, and the landlord is under no legal obligation to change that. You CANNOT have anyone you want stay with you when you have a rental. Also, if it is a 1 or 2 bedroom, that many people would not be allowed anyway. The general standard (here at least) is 2 people per bedroom.
- If your trying to fit 5 people into a one bedroom within your aunts home..that is not only illegal, but a very dangerous fire hazard. Most towns/counties have local ordinances that forbid such housing.
