Tenant screening / number of occupants

[Carini Rochester]

I have a small one bedroom apartment for rent. Can I legitimately limit this to one occupant? I have several people inquiring about the place who want two people to move in.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Carini Rochester:

I have a small one bedroom apartment for rent. Can I legitimately limit this to one occupant? I have several people inquiring about the place who want two people to move in.

HUD allows you to set "reasonable" occupancy limits. The rule of thumb is two people per bedroom, plus one more. So you could fit three people in a one-bedroom unit. However, HUD further states that you can/should adjust the numbers based on square feet, size of bedroom, flexible space, etc.

I have some apartments that are two rooms: kitchen/dining room and living/sleeping room. They also include utilities. For this reason, I tell them the advertised rate is for single occupancy, and it's an extra $75 per month for a second person because of the additional utility use. In four years of ownership I have only had a second occupant twice.