While vital to prevent overcrowding, occupancy standards may violate fair housing rules to the extent they have the effect of excluding families with children.
Spot the Discrimination Mistake
A tenant who shares a one-bedroom apartment with her husband tells the landlord she’s pregnant with the couple’s first child. Along with a smile and warm congratulations, the landlord offers her an eviction notice. Explanation: Once the baby is born, the couple will be over the community’s strict two-person-per-bedroom occupancy standard.
Pitfall: In 1991, HUD issued guidance called the Keating Memo establishing two-per-bedroom as the default standard for reasonable occupancy standards. However, attorneys caution that the most common mistake landlords make with occupancy standards is applying the two-per-bedroom rule on a blanket basis.