Renting out your house--can you limit occupant number? (renter, landlords)

[luv4horses]

Never rented out a property here so we don't know the rules. If a party does rent out their owned home, maybe intending to come back to it in a few years, can they limit the number of renters who live in the house? For example if it is a 4 bedroom house can the lease limit it to 4 people of any age? Or can the number of people be limited to 2 adults, a child, and a dog? Are any rules like this legal? Perhaps the owners want to rent out the house but prefer that only one couple lives there. Could they write this into the lease so the leaseholder cannot fill the other bedrooms with roommates? What about overnight house guests can you limit to x days per year? Or state that a stay of more than one week per month needs to be approved? Just thinking to control wear and tear on a property.

[kitty61]

You decided to be a landlord so you took on uncertainty. When you lease property you cannot expect the renters to take care of the premises the same way you take care of your own home. Calling their previous landlords should help with your decision. Also ensure you have personal references. But it is all basically a turkey shoot.

You can ask the prospective renter to tell you who will be living there. If there be an emergency it is important to know how many persons to look for in the building.

[Axxlrod]

Originally Posted by luv4horses

Never rented out a property here so we don't know the rules. If a party does rent out their owned home, maybe intending to come back to it in a few years, can they limit the number of renters who live in the house? For example if it is a 4 bedroom house can the lease limit it to 4 people of any age? Or can the number of people be limited to 2 adults, a child, and a dog? Are any rules like this legal? Perhaps the owners want to rent out the house but prefer that only one couple lives there. Could they write this into the lease so the leaseholder cannot fill the other bedrooms with roommates? What about overnight house guests can you limit to x days per year? Or state that a stay of more than one week per month needs to be approved? Just thinking to control wear and tear on a property.

Yes, when you agree to rent your house out, you rent it to the people specifically named on the lease with their names and ages. I've even seen the names of the pets listed on the lease. Your lease can and should stipulate exactly who is renting the premises, also that no other persons are allowed to live there unless approved. The lease should also include sub-lease provisions and guest provisions/allowances.

This is all standard stuff. If you're brand new to landlording and going to be moving out of state while your home is leased, I'd recommend getting a professional management company to handle all this for you.

[NYSD1995]

You lease the property to the named residents on the lease, only they are allowed to inhabit the residence permanently.