Special offer

Can You Exclude Children from a Rental Property?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with AppFolio, Inc.

Can You Exclude Children from a Rental Property?

Many new landlords would be lying if they said that they hadn’t at least considered the option of making their rental for adults only. Teenagers old enough to sign a lease on their own and families with kids can both come attached with greater risks. At least that’s often the case in the minds of new landlords who dream of a young professional female as a tenant. While there are no guarantees that this demographic of renters is better, the reality is that there are stigmas that have some truth to them!

However, there are legal issues that come into play. Technically, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to someone based on age alone according to the Fair Housing Act. There are only two conditions under which a landlord may be able to refuse to rent to someone based on age considerations alone:

  1. The property is a retirement community – retirement communities are now essentially the only legal type of adult-only rental community. Typically, these types of properties put limits on people who are about age 55 or older, though it can differ some. And take note—you can’t just decide to make your property a retirement community. There’s a legal process that must be gone through.
  2. The prospective renter is a minor – depending upon where you live, you may be able to deny people that are under the age of 18, or simply require that they have a co-signer. It is essential to check out your state laws before denying someone based on age alone.

To avoid any issues, you can always make sure that your rental property only accommodates a single person. With a loft, bachelor or one-bedroom apartment, there is a much better chance that you’ll get a single person or a couple. But there are no guarantees of their ages.

Check out this post for more info on the Fair Housing Act.

Posted by

Zach Devine, Marketing
RentApp.com (A Service of AppFolio)

 AppFolio Property Manager

 Ready to love your property management software? Learn more

Comments (1)

Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

In example #2, landlords should look at their state's statutes on emancipated minors as many people under 18 or 21 can contract for basic needs....

Aug 31, 2012 04:29 AM