guidelines

[charlotte]

I have some questions about the following item in a set of Guidelines I recently read.
"The number of occupants of a home shall be limited to two (2) persons plus the number of bedrooms present in the home plus an infant. A bedroom is defined as a living space for sleeping which has a closet space."

If someone owns their home why tell them how many occupants they can have?
I can see why you might include this in Guidelines for rental units.
Is it necessary to include it at all?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

[Barbie]

If you are dealing with a land lease comunity there are many reasons to restrict the number of occupancts to a home on a rental site, regardless of whether the home is owned or rented.

I'm sure there are more reasons however ones that quckly come to my mind are water consumption, sewage load, & volume of garbage. These are just a few expenses often occured by the land owner that will increase if there are extra occupants in a unit. Health & saftey issues are also a concern. If a mobile home is over crowded image the problems that may arise in the event of a fire.

The guideline and numbers you have quoted are more than generous and in fact almost scary in my books. Using your numbers, a three bedroom mobile would be permitted to have 6 occupants and an infant. I have 960 sq. ft three bedroom units in my community and I can't imagine them having 7 occupants. Add a dog and cat and I would say that is "OVER CROWDING".

Many communities do not restrict the number of occupancy based on bedrooms but rather on lifestyle. ie : In commmunities that are adult only the numbers will be two adults only per household.
For a family community it might read- tenant, the spouse of the tenant & dependent children. This could reach the numbers that you quoted however many families now a days have only 2 or three children. I would not be so concerned with a large family as much as a would be with "multiply families" or more than one generation of families living together. Defining the relationship of the tenants will quickly deal with most concerns regard numbers of occupants and at the same time the lifestyle that a commuity wants to project and protect.

Where there are guideline there are always valid reasons. No land owner wants unreasonable or unnecesary guidelines any more than the residents. I personally consider "guidelines" "rules and regulations"
call then what you want as protection for a safe and enjoyable lifestyle for all residents. They must follow the dictate of common sense, common courtesy and the requirements of the province/state.


Barbie

[Chrissy]

One of the main reasons to include the number of people permitted in a home is to be in compliance with the Fair Housing Amendments Act. By federal law, the limit to the number of occupants in a home (or apartment) is limited to 2 people per bedroom plus an (one) infant (occupant under the age of 3) for the home. This applies in the absence of more restrictive local laws and/or business conditions.

You ARE concerned about the number of occupants in a home - rental or resident-owned. You need to know who is living on your property and in your community. You need to limit the number of vehicles at any one homesite and the use of utilities (especially if you provide the water.)