Legal to require proof of family status? All minors must be disclosed on application/lease?

Question

in my most recent tenant drama, a couple who claimed to be 'husband and wife' and 'childless' turned out to be unmarried, have 3 kids(who were in and out of foster care), along with a whole other slew of mistruths.

i'd simply like to know that, given federal (and local) statutes that strictly prohibit discrimination based on family status, is there any recourse in dealing with a situation where a couple presents as husband and wife (and/or as without children) when once approved, they move in and are quite bold about the fact that they actually aren't married and even go as far as to state that nor do ever plan to get married because its 'just a piece of paper'(the latter only with which do i agree) and then nonchalantly march in with an army of undisclosed children they claim are their own?

i mean, what's to say the kids they claim are their own but denied having, arent recent kidnap victims or something?!

i mean, is it out of line to question the validity of a claimed relationship (ie, are the kids really theirs, etc)?

Adrien C. · Answer

I put a max number of 2 people per legal bedroom regardless of the size of my property.

Kyle Hipp · Answer

Sounds like they lied on their application which should have been able to be verified with you checks. My application has a section on perjury so if they lied on their you should be able to evict them on that basis if you so choose.

Account Closed · Answer

Your lease probably has a section to list all occupants.  If they lied, that is a material breach.

The problem I foresee, is that they will say the kids weren't "with" them at the time - being in foster care.

You can now require them to name all children, though, to be listed as occupants on an addendum, in my opinion.

I think dealing with which kids are there, etc., will be a losing battle, and fair housing may fight you on it.

So, kick them out for some other reason.

If you did good landlord checks, I know it's still possible to not get good info.  It seems like the standard answer in CA now, especially in corporate-owned apt complexes is "If they qualified again, we would rent to them," when you ask if they're rent to them again.

Well, duh.

What a worthless answer.  And they will then only give you the dates of tenancy.  Which doesn't tell you if they were a problem.

I would guess, though, that their credit was not stellar.  So, it's time to up the criteria.

In CA you can't require them to be married, either, as you know, and they'll just say they consider themselves to be man and wife.

These guys sound like pros.  I am betting their credit wasn't good though.

A couple tricks I learned to avoid tenants like this are to deny them for not filling out the application in full without being asked to do so.  Also, ask them for their IDs and write down the address - they'll think you're writing down the driver's license number.  Require a personal printed check for the application fee.  Write down that address and then wait to see if the check clears.

Now you have two addresses you can match against what they wrote on the application, and their credit check will have addresses and sometimes dates to go with them.  If these don't jibe with what they wrote on the application, deny them.

Also, make an appointment with them to show the place, and if they're more than 15 minutes late without calling with a great reason - like they're in gridlock traffic - deny them.

If they argue in front of you, deny them.  You don't have to rent to anyone who is argumentative or rude or may have loud fights and disturb other tenants.

While you're showing the unit, ask them casually, "So, why are you moving right now?"  See what they say.

Google all phone numbers and addresses they give you.  If they give you a phone number for their work or supervisor, google the business and ask for the HR dept, instead of using the name and number they gave you.

Any lies or discrepancies they give you are valid reasons to deny them.

Pay for every single type of check you can do on them, credit/background/criminal/eviction/identity, etc.  And then google their names in general, and in the courthouses for any previous addresses, if they have that info online, just in case their records didn't make it into the reports.

I just think you should have been able to screen these guys out.  I learned all of the above the hard way. Maybe it will be helpful.  Sorry you're dealing with these guys.

Oh, and consider month-to-month contracts.  That worked for me, too.  Unless you're in rent control, you can kick them out without cause.

If fair housing gives you a hard time say I'm not discriminating against kids, I'm discriminating against rude, argumentative liars.  Totally legal.  And you have proof that they did lie.  But, for now, you're probably going to have to kick them out for something else or just wait to kick them out at end of lease.

Sorry you're dealing with this.

Bob B. · Answer

If they lied on their application then I would assume they will screw up in other areas that will be grounds for eviction.  I bet that will happen in 30 days or less.

Rob Beland · Answer

In MA you legally cant ask about the ages any tenants that are under 18. You can, however, ask how many occupants there will be and deny based on too many people per SF. You can also, unfortunately, not deny somebody who wants to rent a one BR with 3 kids if the apartment is big enough square footage wise. Is this a tenant on a lease or month-to-month? Is one an easier eviction process than the other?

Legal to require proof of family status? All minors must be disclosed on application/lease?

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