Landlord Question and Answer Forum

We have a two apartment - the bottom unit was rented out last month and we are looking for tenants for the top unit. The top unit is a much smaller 2 bedroom 1 bath. I am having a hard time finding answers as to how many people can occupy the unit. We have a family that consists of 2 adults and 3 children that are interested in the unit. Although I know we cannot discriminate against families with children (I'm a mother, I have no problem with it), I just think a family of 5 is a lot for the size of the unit. And honestly I kind of feel bad for the people living downstairs to have that much traffic above them. I know we need to tread lightly as there are obviously laws set in place - I'm just having a hard time finding these laws! Anyone else have experience with this? Small units with large families?

From my experience you can deny them tenancy do to another reason or simply that another tenant was more qualified. This may be the approach to take. As for accepting them get a past tenancy or prior landlord references. They may turn out to be great renters and if you have your lease written correctly you can protect your property and other tenants by putting rules and regulations in place that will help them be great neighbors.

Posted by Richard W, PA on Sunday, April 27, 2014