Understanding the Basics of Consumer, Financial and Personal Injury Law

Families with Children: Know Your Rental Rights

As a parent with children, you are protected by the Fair Housing Act, and you can fight housing discrimination problems in court. Do you think that your landlord is placing unfair restrictions on your family because you have kids? Here are some scenarios common to renting families in which the landlord is actually acting illegally. 

1. Refusing a contract application because you have kids.

Some landlords don't like having kids in the apartment because they believe that children damage property and will cost them money in cleaning and repairs. However, it is illegal to deny a contract to an applicant just because they have a minor. You can ask why your application was denied, or you can ask why the landlord has not been communicating with you. If there is evidence that you were sidelined because of your kids, you can get a discrimination lawyer to help you.

2. Refusing to allow children to play outside.

Your landlord may make a "no playing in the yard" or "no outdoor activities" rule. This is not legal. If there is yard space available, children are permitted to use it. Read over your rental contract carefully. If a clause prohibits children playing outdoors on the property, point out that the restriction is illegal and that you cannot sign until this is rectified. This play protection remains in place even if other tenants complain that your children are noisy or messy. 

3. Evicting you because you child is loud.

Children throw tantrums, and babies cry. Kids make noise when they play. There cannot be rules established that children cannot make noise during regular daytime hours. Noise late into the evening and early morning is a more challenging matter because noise ordinances are enforceable by rental contract and property rules, but if you're a parent with a teething baby, you still have a legal leg to stand on. 

It should be noted that "quiet hours" cannot extend to curfews. You may give your own child a curfew as a house rule, but a landlord cannot extend a curfew to a child.

4. Only renting a certain type of apartment or portion to families.

Sometimes, landlords try to discourage family renters by only allowing them to have certain types of apartments or by limiting the number of renters per room. 

If you apply to rent a one-bedroom apartment to share with your child, a landlord might try to turn you away because the landlord requires children to have their own bedrooms. Landlords can set up occupancy limits, but having two people per room is seen as acceptable under the Fair Housing Act. Therefore, not being able to put only a single person in each room is not a reason to turn away a mother or father and one child. 

Another scenario is when a landlord tries to put families only in the basement because having children on the main floor is too loud or too distracting for other tenants. Families cannot be removed into a specific part of a complex (meaning there cannot be "single" apartments and "family" apartments). 

For more information on discriminatory housing policy, contact a law office in your area, such as The Law Offices of Douglas F. Fagan


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