Children are the future, but they can present unique challenges. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that may include property owners as well! There are many details and concerns worth examining for property owners who may rent to families with children — let’s take a look.
Rental property owners may be rightly concerned about the damage that children can wreak on their properties. Children are prone to spill juice on carpets, draw on the walls with crayons and markers, and have all kinds of accidents that can result in minor property damage.
Landlords generally cannot refuse to rent to families with children. There are a few exceptions that will be described shortly, but the general rule is that you cannot discriminate against renters or applicants on the basis of family status due to the Fair Housing Act. Unless you fall under a few specific exemptions, all of the following are clearly prohibited under federal law:
- Discriminating against families with children
- Discouraging families with children from renting
- Relegate families with children to specific areas of a housing complex
- Discriminate against or screen out pregnant women
- Discriminate against anyone in the middle of trying to gain custody of a minor
Exemptions for Discriminating Against Children
The law allows housing developments to discriminate against families with children if they are occupied solely by those age 62 or older, or if 80% of the occupied dwellings have one or more occupants age 55 or older.
There is also a loophole in some cities and states for rental property owners who own or have partial interest in fewer than three rental units and who rent directly “without the services of a real estate licensee or the facilities of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings.”
Property managers may not discriminate on your behalf, and you cannot discriminate against families if you have a property manager. However, a good property manager should be able to help prevent you from breaking the regulations.
Be Careful With Your Ads and Marketing Materials
Since you cannot legally discriminate against families with children, be careful how you advertise. It would be a bad idea to run an ad that said “NO KIDS.” Make sure your language is welcoming and inclusive.
Rental property owners have gotten into legal trouble for more subtle means of discouraging families with children, even when it wasn’t clear that there was any criminal intent to discriminate. If you’re not careful, you can get into trouble for simply being sloppy about describing your property.
For example, the following rental property descriptions can be construed as attempts to keep families with children away:
- “Singles or couples only”
- “Perfect for couples”
- “Ideal for urban professionals”
- “Ideal for college students”
- “Quiet environment for mature individuals”
In each case, you could get prosecuted for overt discrimination or attract the attention of fair housing testers. These testers pose as applicants, come and see the rental property and speak with you, and then report any whiff of discrimination to the district attorney’s office.
Forbidden Rules Against Children
There are also certain types of rules targeting children that cannot be made. Here are just a few:
- You can’t prohibit children from using the pool, but you can prohibit unsupervised children from using the pool.
- You can’t have special adult hours for using the pool, but you can declare the pool off-limits during specific hours of the day if using the pool at that time disturbs nearby residents.
- You can’t pass a blanket ban on tricycles.
How to Avoid Discriminating Against Children
To protect yourself, put your applicant screening and selection criteria on paper and be consistent. Have an attorney examine it and ensure that the document is compliant with applicable laws. Keep careful records that demonstrate that you selected renters according to these specific criteria.
Your criteria, of course, shouldn’t take age, race, religion, national origin, and gender into account. Look at credit scores, job history, income/rent ratios, references, and the like, and stick to those criteria.
Examples include talking about dangerous streets or bus stops, or expressing concern about how your pregnant applicant is going to manage the stairs. When you make implications that a tenant might not be welcome in an environment, you open the door to possible enforcement action.
Set Appropriate Security Deposits
You need to be consistent about your security deposit policy—you cannot charge a higher deposit for families with children. Make sure the deposit is large enough to pay for whatever damage you can reasonably expect a young child to inflict on carpets, walls, and the rest of the rental. You will have to cover any additional costs as the landlord.