I have a two bedroom Condo for rent, I don't want anymore than 2 people renting it. Family of four calls and wants to rent it, I tell them my limit is two, am I breaking any laws?
Robin MashalLitigation LawyerLos Angeles, CACA licensed ·
Disclaimer: The materials provided below are informational and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
So long as there is no illegal purpose (e.g. discrimination), you may specificy maximum occupancy of the unit. You need to immediately consult your own lawyer to protect your legal rights.
You may be wondering if you could be accused of discriminating against families with children, which would be illegal. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Statement of Policy on Occupancy Standards (Federal Register, Volume 63, No. 243). The statement reads, in part:
"Specifically, the Department believes that an occupancy policy of two persons in
a bedroom, as a general rules, is reasonable under the Fair Housing Act. The
Department of Justice has advised us that this is the general policy it has
incorporated in consent decrees and proposed orders, and such a general policy
also is consistent with the guidance provided to housing providers in the HUD
handbook. . . [Handbook 7465.1 REV-2, Public Housing Occupancy handbook:
Admission, revised Section 5-1 (issued February 12, 1991)].
On the other hand, there is no basis to conclude that Congress intended that an
owner or manager of dwellings would be unable to restrict the number of
occupancy who could reside in a dwelling. Thus, the Department believes that in
appropriate circumstances, owners and managers may develop and implement
reasonable occupancy requirements based on factors such as the number and
size of sleeping areas or bedrooms and the overall size of the dwelling units. In
this regard, it must be noted that, in connection with a complaint alleging
discrimination on the basis of familial status, the Department will carefully
examine any such nongovernmental restriction to determine whether it operates
unreasonably to limit or exclude families with children."
In California, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is the agency that investigates charges of illegal discrimination. The DFEH recognizes that occupancy limits can be used as an indirect way of discriminating against children, even when the wording of the limit is age-neutral. The DFEH has an internal guideline that the threshold for investigating complaints is two people per bedroom plus one, meaning that they will not investigate a complaint if the landlord allows five or more people in a two bedroom unit. If the landlord limits occupancy of a two bedroom unit to less than five people, and there is a complaint, the agency may investigate and look at all the circumstances to determine whether the occupancy limit was discriminatory.
There may also be local ordinances in your area regarding occupancy standards.
