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Can landlord limit amount of people?

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Can landlord limit amount of people?

Postby rda412 » Thu Mar 04, 2010 3:24 am

I was reviewing a lease for an apartment I may rent and it says in it that "at no time shall number of people in the apartment exceed twenty (20)." My question is can he legally deny me the ability to have a social gathering that exceeds 20?

Another concern i have is it says "Management reserves the
right to inspect an apartment without notice necessary for maintenance, safety, security, and management of the complex." I thought the only time they could enter without notice is in emergency, is that right?
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Postby TenantNet » Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:10 am

In terms of the number of people in a unit, I'm assuming your concern is for parties, not roommates. But in some cases the issues overlap.

The roommate law sets for the rights and limits to occupants (in addition to tenants), but various laws limit how many and where people can sleep. For example, you can't have people sleeping in the kitchen. There are limits as to the number of square feet per person (for living purposes).

For a party, there are also limits per se. First, a LL can put in a lease what might be considered reasonable. I've never seen landlords necessarily enforce such a provision, but I normally don't see 20-30 people in a 600 SF apartment. If we're talking a 4,000 SF loft, that might be different.

Then you have egress issues. That's why the fire department and building code put limits in commercial spaces as to the number of people. You even have "live loads" limits in the building code. Residential live loads differ from city to city, but it's usually 40-50 lbs per SF. Residential buildings are not built to hold 200 lb/SF (for heavy machinery) as is common in industrial buildings.

Then you have issues with neighbors. If you're a party animal, you might look for a place where the neighbors won't mind. I have seen LL's call police on parties that are raucous and noisy.

On inspection issues, see the access rules in the forum's Reference Section. There must be notice, in writing, with a description of the purposes. The timing of the notice may differ. The tenant has a right to insist on being there and in my view, can offer alternative days/times than what the LL seeks (within reason on both sides). Of course emergencies are different.
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