3 bdr rental: City's says 5, renter asking for 6

[James Fowler]

OK... Maybe I should never question this. But it seems rediculous that the city's required occupancy permit allows for only 5 people in my 3 bed 1200 sqft house.

Through screening people we have found a qualified potential tenant we like.... Except they come in the quantity of SIX! Is there any legal or other concerns to have over doing this?

[Michael Hayworth]

Is there an REI group near you? You're going to need to ask local landlords if that law is ever enforced.

There are millions of laws on the books. That's what politicians do to justify their existence - make more laws. Some people are so cautious they try to avoid absolutely any legal risk, but in reality, nobody can obey them all. Also in reality, many of them are never enforced. If this is one of those, you may be OK. But be aware that it is on the books, so if your tenants piss off someone who knows about that law and they file a complaint, you may be the exception to the "never enforced" thing.

(Good book: "Three Felonies a Day." We have so many laws that the average U.S. Citizen commits three FEDERAL felonies a day. Doesn't even include state and local. As an owner of three business and a couple dozen investment properties, I'm probably in double digits every day!