Occupancy Limits In Park City Property Management
Occupancy limits in Park City property management can be somewhat of a tricky situation. There are some ways that a landlord can limit the number of people allowed to reside in a property, but only to a point. And there are some situations where a landlord can't limit the number of people. Occupancy is a very property-subjective restriction and there are many opportunities for a landlord to find themselves in hot water with a local housing authority. The biggest problem a landlord can face when it comes to occupancy limits is being accused of some type of discrimination, particularly familial status.
If you are unfamiliar with Fair Housing laws, protected classes or familial status you should check out my post titled "Questions You Can't Ask In Park City Property Management". This will give you some good information on the different protected classes and explain a little about each one. Now let's take a look at occupancy limits and how it could apply to long term rentals in Park City.
Occupancy Limits By Law
The first thing you should understand about occupancy limits is that Utah law does not have a limit to the maximum number of occupants for any given property. Federal law does set a "reasonable" standard for occupancy to be two persons per bedroom. This should be understood that a landlord cannot have a policy that is more restrictive than two people per bedroom. This does not mean that a landlord can put as many people into a property as they would like, there are certain other measures of habitability that must be met and an over-crowded property would likely violate some of those rules. For example at properties I manage I have established a policy of two people per bedroom plus one. So a one bedroom would allow occupancy of three people, a two bedroom would allow five, and so on. I have found this to be an effective and reasonable rule for Park City property management.
Additional Factors
While you cannot be more restrictive than two people per bedroom that doesn't mean you will not have complaints filed against you for turning down applicants who exceed the two people restriction. Fair Housing law provides a simple example of two families of three people each who were turned down for housing. The first family consisted of two adults and an infant applying to live in a large one bedroom. The second family consisted of two adults and a teenage child applying to live in a small one bedroom. The law states that a charge against the landlord in the first example might be warranted while a charge against the landlord in the second example might not.
Discrimination
The thing you want to avoid at all costs is discrimination based on familial status. You cannot reject any potential tenant based solely on the fact of children, even when it comes to occupancy limits. While you should never say to a person "You have too many children to live in this property", it would be acceptable to say "There are too people to live in this property", as long as this statement is not more restrictive than two people per bedroom and would not be considered "unreasonable".
If you would like more information or tips on occupancy limits, or further information about Park City property management in general click the link below for a free consultation. You will receive valuable information specific to your property that will help you make an informed decision. You will also receive a free, no-obligation quote on our property management services. At CC Realty we specialize in making investment property ownership a trouble free experience. Please contact us today for your free consultation.
