Multiple people in single family house, legal?

[Nicker]

I am looking to move into a house in Garden City, NY with 4 other roommates.

The house is owned by one of the roommates aunt, it has been unoccupied for a year, and we will be paying to help with mortgage and utilities we use.


Garden City law states:

One-family dwellings: buildings containing not more than one dwelling unit occupied exclusively for residential purposes by the immediate family of the owner or tenant, not having more than one kitchen or one kitchenette and with not more than two lodgers or boarders residing with a family.

http://www.ecode360.com/ecode3-back/getSimple.jsp?guid=9147185


My understanding is that each one of us, since we have different last names, are considered a family each.

Is there a NYS definition of immediate family pertaining to housing rules and regulations?

More specifically, would first-cousins be considered within immediate family?

Will it be illegal for us 5 to live in this single family house, even though it has 5 bedrooms.

[TenantNet]

You're looking at the wrong issue. It's a single dwelling. What matters is if each of you are on the lease, or if only one is on the lease. That is because the NYS roommate law (discussed here ad infinitum) allows each person on the lease to have one roommate (and the roommate's family).

Of course it's not a problem if no one objects. I do not know if this can be waived ahead of time (either by the LL or any of the prime tenants), you would need a legal opinion for that.

Are you all on the lease, or do each of you pay rent to the aunt? Or do you pay rent to the one tenant?

[Nicker]

We were not even going to draw up a lease nor sign any contract. Since she is a close family member, and we all know her, all bills would remain in her name, and we would simply live there with her permission, paying at the end of the month to her what the mortgage and other utilities were.

With no written contract, just her expressed persmission, legally it would be us just living in her house.

My issue is that the neighbor is known to be one that pokes around in everyone's business, and our concern is that he would report us all living there to the town, thus having a town hall official visit us and evict us for illegally living there.

I want to find out before hand if, infact, we can all legally live in this house, no contract or main tenant.

[TenantNet]

Since she is a close family member

Are you all related?

Again, you're looking at the wrong thing. That's just a classification of buildings. Here you have a single dwelling so any zoning may not matter. The question (if any) is how many roommates may live in a single unit. It is not a separate dwelling for each person. Last name means nothing. Even without a lease, if each person pays the aunt separately, I would say that each would then be a prime tenant (with a LL-tenant legal relationship) and entitled to live there as prime tenants, not as roommates.

But in any case, NYS roommate law would trump local code IMHO. The city would have no jurisdiction unless you exceeded maximum occupancy standards, like having 20 people living in space meant for 2-3 people (by people per square feet).

And in any case, they can't evict without going to court.

[Nicker]

She is willing to say three of us are first-cousins, legal or not, if that has to be the case for us to live there, but I would not want to use this if any legal action had to be dealt with.

The unit is plenty large for us 5 to live in legally, over 2500 sq/ft, each with a bedroom.

Does NYS roommate law state a maximum number of tenants that can legally live in a single dwelling? I looked over this post http://www.tenant.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4913 but could not find anything listed. As you stated, NYS law supersedes all local law and I would love to find a law that would allow us to live legally, regardless of local law.

As I said, the homeowner is on our side, and is willing to help us out in anyway to make this work.

[TenantNet]

There is nothing you've said that makes it illegal. Why are you worrying?

Either you're related, or you're not. DOn't pull that crap.

It's simple, if each tenant pays the LL individually, then they are each tenants, not roommates. If you had five tenants, then each could have one roommate each and the roommate's family ... as long as you don't exceed maximum occupancy standards. Those standards are based on number of people per square foot, and do not relate to the rights of tenants to have roommates.

If you have real questions about the local law, contact the local government. But NYS law

[Nicker]

So everything looks good for those aspects in living in the house, the main concern here is that we are not exceeding maximum occupancy, which we are nowhere near.

Another question is, say under Garden City law, you are not allowed to rent out a house, would it still be fine for us to live in *her* house?

[TenantNet]

You answered that.

[Nicker]

Under NYS DEFINITION OF "FAMILY" IN ZONING LAW AND BUILDING CODES, Legal Memorandum LU05:

I. Guidelines to Drafting a Definition of Family

In light of the numerous state and federal court decisions on the subject of defining "family," some guidelines may be gleaned as to constitutionally permissible standards.

1. Preservation of the character of single-family areas remains a legitimate purpose of zoning.

2. Zoning may not exclude a group which "in every but a biological sense is a single family" (White Plains, supra); or a household "which poses no threat to the goal of preserving the character of the traditional single-family neighborhood" (McMinn supra).

3. Court decisions have indicated that the "factual and functional equivalent" of a traditional family of unrelated persons may be evidenced by the following:

1. single housekeeping unit;

2. more or less permanent living arrangement;

3. stable, rather than transient living arrangements (except where the handicapped are affected);

4. a group headed by a householder caring for a reasonable number of children as one would be likely find in a biologically unitary family (White Plains 34 N.Y.2d at 306).

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/cnsl/lu05.htm

We can, legally, exist as a Functional Family.

Thank you TenantNet for your help, and I hope this might help others in the future.

[TenantNet]

You're making it much more complicated than it is. Do a Homer Simpson: read what I wrote above 100 times until it sinks in, please.

[dmonitto]

My question is... are there any limitations on how many tenants can live in a single dwelling home, or is it just limited to people per square foot? I just feel like this is too easy of a loop hole to the 2 roommate clause in the Garden City code.

[TenantNet]

Asked above and answered above.

[dmonitto]

Ok so the only consideration to maximum occupancy is people per square foot? I am sorry to continue to ask the same questions, but the neighbor is a real PITA and I do not want to put my aunt in an awkward situation.

The way I am seeing this is that as long as we are each considered tenants (which would be done by us each paying my aunt individually) we are not breaking the Garden City code (on NYS for that matter). There are no stipulations for renting, or maximum number of tenants in the code, just that Single Family Dwelling, which is from what I understand only a classification, and in no way affects our situation.

[TenantNet]

Before you do anything else, why are you asking under a different username? Forum rules prohibit multiple accounts and this is a perfect example why this rule exists. How do I or anyone else know you are the same person? I thought you were different until you referenced your aunt. Geez.

Besides that, I've answered your question several times now.

[dmonitto]

We are different people. I am the other roommate in the house, Nicker sent me over here so that I could clear things with the home owner as I live with her now.