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Well, we thought we had found a place... but it seems that the 3 bedroom townhome rules stated that there could be no more than 2 people per bedroom... I was going to put all three of my boys in one and my two girls in the other... That's how we live now... Since it was a temporary situation I figured we could continue to do this for a while, and then when we bought a home in a year or two we could switch to a larger house.. maybe where all the kids could have their own room!
SIGH!!!
I am having someone look into this for me as to it being a statewide rule for rentals... If so, we will need 4 bedrooms... Most apts/town houses don't have that many bedrooms! So, we will be looking at renting a house... I am REALLY leaning toward Clayton... looks like the place for us... but I'm trying not to be too close minded about it either.. since I don't know the areas down there.....
I heard that several subs in that area have lots of price ranges... Of COURSE we are trying to rent for as cheap as possible with just getting on our feet...
This is not so much fun anymore....
Sorry you ran into that, zoebrunn. I had NO idea things like that could be stipulated -- maybe only because it is a rental?
Large family you have! What fun!
Good luck in your hunting. Looking for a rental house at this point may not necessarily be a bad idea. I've found houses cheaper than what our three-bedroom townhouse style apartment was, initially -- nice places with yards and fences, and the whole bit. I have a friend I am trying to convince to move here, and I keep telling her she can live as cheaply, or cheaper, than what she does now in Atlanta.
You know, we found that as well when we rented an apartment in FL. Was this a privately owned townhome that you looked at? If you rented from a private owner you might not come up against that. I know that in FL people who rent just one or two properties out are immune from some of the rules that large complexes have.
Perhaps try a 3-bedroom townhome that a single owner is renting out....unless that's what you were doing anyway Have you tried raleighrent.com?
Last edited by annesg; 05-06-2008 at 07:43 AM..
Reason: correction
Just a thought - did you read the rule and decide not to pursue or did the landlord actually turn you down on this basis? I wonder if the landlord has the rule to prevent multi-family occupancy? It might be worth asking if you otherwise really liked the area.
I think this is actually about federal laws and guidelines per HUD. I googled the topic and there seems to be hit after hit that talks about the 2 persons per bedroom law. Additionally, there are state and local laws that may apply. Some quick things I found are as follows:
1. Letter of the law (2 per bedroom) is especially strong when a room is small. Were the Brady's violating the law?!!! :-)
2. Babies are not considered in the same manner as others for occupancy reasons.
3. A flexible room cannot be considered a bedroom if one must pass through another bedroom in order to access a bathroom.
That law has totally messed up student housing all over the place--especially in the more expensive cities like NY, Boston, SF. Students often would rent 1 or 2 bedroom places and then turn the living area space into a bedroom so that the rent would come down to something they could afford. In fact, I thought this was mostly why this law went into affect?
I know quite a few people who own their own homes who have 3 kids in one bedroom.
Thanks for all of your replies...
I did go directly to the renter... It's Parkside Village. Nice place. Just not enough bedrooms for us.
It is pretty much the law. I'm sooo glad that I asked them outright BEFORE I sent in an application and $$ !!!
I think that we would LOVE to have a 4 bedroom... but can we AFFORD it...?!
Thanks for the sites to check out. I have been keeping up with Raleighrent. I'll be checking out the other soon!
This is my same problem here. I don't know if anybody followed the 'law' back in NJ, but there were ALWAYS gobs of people up in one apartment. I knew a friend who had FIVE sons in a one bedroom apt because thats all she could afford. We cannot afford a townhouse/complex's three bedroom rents. So we are looking at houses. They are small, older homes without those niceties of complexes like a half bath and dishwasher, etc. but I'll just have to deal with that because we NEED another bedroom for my son.
Keep asking specifics though as you may find a complex with some leniency. (Try a CL post.) I asked around with some friends I knew had larger families and that's how I found the place I'm in now. My other 2BR complex was going to make us upgrade to a 3 BR at $200 more in rent. The place we are in now allowed our three kids in a two BR. I made sure I asked beforehand just to make sure.
I think the HUD guidelines are two per bedroom plus one. I am renting an apt in Ct (until we move to Raleigh) and I have three boys and two girls also. It is a three-bedroom. I did have to ask around to find a place. The ones that are denying you leases are not following HUD guidelines. Good luck-I know it is frustrating.
Interesting... I found this in a lawfirm's August 2005 newsletter... I'm not sure if anything has changed since then:
THE FAIR HOUSING CORNER - TWO PEOPLE PER BEDROOM? By Cathy L. Lucrezi, Attorney at Law When it comes to occupancy limits, it is good to follow the HUD regulations. But what, exactly, are those guidelines? Contrary to myth and rumor, the guidelines do not say “two heartbeats per bedroom”. Instead, HUD recommends basing an occupancy limit on the number and size of sleeping areas or bedrooms and the overall size of the dwelling unit.
Consider two situations where landlords refused to rent a two-bedroom unit to a family of five, based on a “two people per bedroom” policy. The first family was attempting to rent a unit with two large bedrooms and spacious living areas. The second family was attempting to rent a small unit with two small bedrooms. HUD says the first family likely has a claim for discrimination, while the second does not. The bottom line? There is no clear cut rule. Your occupancy limits should be reasonable. They should be based on size of the unit (how many square feet?) and the number of sleeping areas (i.e., people can use a den for a bedroom). Lastly, your occupancy limit should refer to the number of people in the unit, not the number of children in the unit.
I also found a reference to this...HUD Handbook 4350.3 Rev-1, Chapter 3, paragraph 3-22. But I can't find the actual handbook.
Of course, none of this precludes a state law that sets limits
Good luck with your search!
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Have you tried raleighrent.com?
