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Old 06-26-2012, 01:19 PM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,436 posts, read 25,822,958 times
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If you rent, the laws around here say 1 bedroom for two people. A spouse and three kids adds up to needing space for 5, or a 3 bedroom or larger apartment. Don't forget that detail when looking.
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Old 06-26-2012, 01:43 PM
 
9,879 posts, read 14,134,378 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkf747 View Post
If you rent, the laws around here say 1 bedroom for two people. A spouse and three kids adds up to needing space for 5, or a 3 bedroom or larger apartment. Don't forget that detail when looking.
Really?? I've never heard of such a law, anywhere. Now I know many places have laws about how many unrelated people can be in a certain house, but never have heard of or seen a law regarding space requirements for a nuclear family.
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Old 06-26-2012, 02:12 PM
 
12,906 posts, read 15,664,669 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spencgr View Post
Really?? I've never heard of such a law, anywhere. Now I know many places have laws about how many unrelated people can be in a certain house, but never have heard of or seen a law regarding space requirements for a nuclear family.

I have heard of this but don't know how much it is enforced. Apparently, there are some rules regarding ages of kids/gender of kids and many rooms are to be rented. As I said, I don't know how much of this is truly enforced but it has been something I've always been aware of.
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Old 06-26-2012, 02:42 PM
 
89 posts, read 179,112 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineVA View Post
I have heard of this but don't know how much it is enforced. Apparently, there are some rules regarding ages of kids/gender of kids and many rooms are to be rented. As I said, I don't know how much of this is truly enforced but it has been something I've always been aware of.
It definitely comes into play when you have older kids and mixed gender, but generally only when there are custody/divorce or CPS issues. If you're married and no one is calling CPS on you, it's not gonna be an issue
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Old 06-26-2012, 06:30 PM
 
9,879 posts, read 14,134,378 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineVA View Post
I have heard of this but don't know how much it is enforced. Apparently, there are some rules regarding ages of kids/gender of kids and many rooms are to be rented. As I said, I don't know how much of this is truly enforced but it has been something I've always been aware of.
Wow! Somebody better call CPS on Mike and Carol Brady!
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Old 06-26-2012, 06:56 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,482,490 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineVA View Post
Falls Church and Woodbridge are really worlds apart both in distance, cost, and overall general feel. I don't think you can even compare the two.
I just wanted to repeat that while noting that one of the dofferences is that the principal way of getting to DC from Falls Church is Metro (good), while the principal way from Woodbridge is I-95 (bad).

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristineVA View Post
The rule in this area is LOCATION. Move as close to the job as you can afford.
This too bears repeating. The biggest mistake that people make in moving to the DC area is buying themselves a lifestyle-crushing commute. Good that you are thinking of renting for a while. That will give you time to get the lay of the land. $400K will not be good for an SFH. You can ghet a nice townhouse for that though. $2500 to rent is a somewhat better situation, though you still may not find an SFH within 60-minutes commuting range.
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Old 07-01-2012, 11:13 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,795,280 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spencgr View Post
Really?? I've never heard of such a law, anywhere. Now I know many places have laws about how many unrelated people can be in a certain house, but never have heard of or seen a law regarding space requirements for a nuclear family.
This definitely was the case when we were looking for a rental in Chapel Hill, NC. It was an apartment complex, and the leasing manager said we had to have a minimum of 1 BR for 2 people. So for our family of 5, we needed to get a 3 BR. Not sure if the law is local or not.

ETA: I just looked it up on the Fairfax County Landlord Tenant Handbook (pg 16), and it didn't say anything about number of bedrooms per person. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/consume...l_handbook.pdf
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Old 07-02-2012, 04:17 AM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,436 posts, read 25,822,958 times
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I do not know if it is a law, but no apartment community around here would rent us a 2 bedroom apartment. They told me that it's the law here. I have not ever looked it up.
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Old 07-02-2012, 07:19 AM
 
270 posts, read 909,090 times
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The Fair Housing Act makes it difficult for landlords to dictate room requirements for children in the same family. The reason is so that landlords don't discriminate against families with children. Landlords can't require separate bedrooms for children of different genders, for example. Landlords can set occupancy standards in general, so long as they don't violate the FHA. Local ordnances can restrict the number of non-related people who live in a house, but i don't know of any that restrict family members, probably because they might run afoul of the FHA. In a few cases, other laws about bedroom requirements for children come into play, but they only apply when the government is already directly involved like in HUD housing, foster care, child protective services or something like that. So the bottom line is that it's probably not the law, but individual landlords who are setting occupancy requirements. Landlords can do it within the limits of the FHA.
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Old 07-03-2012, 10:11 AM
 
Location: Metro Washington DC
15,436 posts, read 25,822,958 times
Reputation: 10457
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevbros View Post
The Fair Housing Act makes it difficult for landlords to dictate room requirements for children in the same family. The reason is so that landlords don't discriminate against families with children. Landlords can't require separate bedrooms for children of different genders, for example. Landlords can set occupancy standards in general, so long as they don't violate the FHA. Local ordnances can restrict the number of non-related people who live in a house, but i don't know of any that restrict family members, probably because they might run afoul of the FHA. In a few cases, other laws about bedroom requirements for children come into play, but they only apply when the government is already directly involved like in HUD housing, foster care, child protective services or something like that. So the bottom line is that it's probably not the law, but individual landlords who are setting occupancy requirements. Landlords can do it within the limits of the FHA.
I guess I will have to investigate this, but landlords in both states have told me that they can't rent a 2 bedroom apartment to a family of 5. If we were in a 2 bedroom when the third child was born, then they said it was okay to stay in the 2 bedroom apartment. That happened to us, but eventually we moved. If the OP does find a place that will rent a 2 bedroom to them then I hope they will post the info.
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