Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2021 · 32 posts · 7 votes
I have a 3 bedroom unit with 3 adult and from time to time, they have 2 toddlers that stay for a short period of time from time to time They also have 2 teenagers that does does the same thing what would be the best way to handle this
Before anything else, be careful how you frame this one, because familial status is a protected class under the Fair Housing Act. Any rule you write or any letter you send that is about children specifically, or that treats guests who are minors differently from guests who are adults, is the version of this that gets expensive. Everything below is neutral on purpose. I am not an attorney.
Start with the math, because I do not think you have an occupancy problem. Three adults in a 3 bedroom is well inside normal. The common starting point used in fair housing analysis is roughly two persons per bedroom, which would be six here, and that is a guideline rather than a hard rule, with local code governing. Chicago has its own occupancy provisions tied to floor area, so check those, but a 3 bedroom with three adults and intermittent kids is almost certainly not an overcrowding case.
So the real question is not how many people are in there. It is whether somebody has quietly moved in. Those are two different problems with two different answers, and your post does not tell me which one you have.
The cheapest first step is to ask. Not a notice, a conversation. Grandkids every other weekend is a completely different situation from a fourth adult and their children gradually becoming residents, and tenants will usually just tell you which it is. You lose nothing by asking and you learn the one fact that decides your next move.
If you want a rule going forward, the mechanism is the guest clause in the lease, and it should be written in nights, not in people. Something like: a guest is anyone staying no more than 14 consecutive nights, or no more than 30 nights in any 12 month period, and anyone staying beyond that must apply, be screened, and be added to the lease. That is neutral, it applies to a brother-in-law exactly as it applies to a teenager, and it is enforceable because it is about duration rather than about who the person is. Put it in at renewal for every unit you own, not as a one-off letter to this tenant.
Two practical notes.
If you pay water, trash or any utility on this unit, that is your actual early warning system. Headcount changes show up in consumption before they show up anywhere else, and a sustained step up is worth more than a neighbor's opinion about who is coming and going.
And on process, Chicago's RLTO covers most residential rentals in the city and sets its own notice requirements for curing a lease violation, with some exemptions including owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer. Confirm whether your unit is covered before you send anything formal, because the notice you send under the wrong framework is the one that gets thrown out.
One last thing only if this happens to be a voucher unit. Unreported household members are a bigger deal there than in a conventional tenancy, because household composition is certified and it drives the voucher size. Different conversation, and it goes through the housing authority rather than through you.
I think the biggest question is how often the kids are actually staying there. Are we talking a couple weekends a month or several nights every week? Personally, I wouldn't be too concerned if they're just visiting periodically. If they're staying regularly, I would want to better understand the arrangement and make sure the lease accurately reflects who is living there. I would also be careful with how you approach this from a Fair Housing standpoint, especially if these are children of the adults living in the property. At the end of the day, if the tenants are paying rent, taking care of the property, and the occupancy is within applicable guidelines, I'm not sure there's much to gain by making an issue out of occasional visits.
I would say they would do it for a couple of weeks. stop and repeat I noticed that we'll bring enough just to get by. For those weeks it happens often throughout the year. Contract does say no more than 14 consecutive days. For every 6 months
How often are they actually staying over? If it's just occasional visits, I wouldn't make an issue out of it. If they're there most nights, that's different conversation about who's actually living in the unit. I'd clarify that first before deciding whether anything needs to be addressed under the lease.
The 2 toddlers out of mind. I wanna say a week or 2 to 3times then I'll stop then I'll do it again. But the 2 teenagers, it's either the one or the other, or both week or 2 or 3 d a week. On and off ...
David — with that pattern, a week or two at a time, stopping, then repeating, you are past occasional guest territory in practical terms, even if no single stay breaks your 14-day clause cleanly. What I would do is document dates, not impressions: a simple log of when the extra stays start and stop, plus utility use if you pay any of it. Then have one direct conversation and put the lease clause in front of them in neutral terms — nights, not people — and ask anyone staying beyond it to apply and be added. Apply the same rule to every unit. General education only, not legal advice: if they push back, check your local process before sending anything formal. Documented dates win this. Guesses do not.
David, I would keep this in the lease and the file, not in a hallway negotiation. Define guests vs occupants in writing, set a reasonable overnight/visitor limit, and require written approval before someone effectively moves in. Document dates and who is staying so you are not reconstructing it later from memory.
Be careful with family members and kids in the mix — familial status is a protected class under Fair Housing, so occupancy standards need to be applied consistently and neutrally. California also has its own occupancy guidance in many markets, so confirm the local standard before you draw a hard line. Not legal advice.
If the pattern looks like unauthorized occupants rather than occasional visits, address it in writing against the lease terms rather than by text debate. Happy to compare notes by message.
First question I’d ask: is it actually causing a problem? Noise, damage, higher utilities? If not, family visiting from time to time is pretty normal, and I’d be careful here.
Familial status is protected under fair housing, so don’t single out the kids. Any rule has to apply to all guests equally.
Check your lease’s guest clause. Most limit stays to something like 14 days in a 6-month period. If you don’t have one, add it at renewal.
If someone is really living there, not visiting, that’s when you act. Adults get screened and added to the lease. Minors don’t sign, but they should be listed as occupants.
Know your local occupancy limits. They’re based on square footage and code, not a flat “people per bedroom” rule.
If it’s a Section 8 tenant, anyone living in the unit has to be reported to the housing authority. That one matters.
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