Please help -- apartment issues

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AClaire11

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We went down today to ask our leasing office about their occupancy policies, since we’re having a baby in March. We thought we would probably have to move to a 1br, but were told that we actually have to move to a 2br apartment because only two people can live in a 1br. This means a $350 increase that will completely eat up my husband’s expected promotion, and possibly then some, depending on taxes and all that. We’re in the cheapest apartment complex that isn’t completely infested with roaches or wildly unsafe and still pay almost 50% of our take-home pay in rent. We called around and no one will rent a 1br to us when our lease is up this fall because they all have the same policy. Our apartment building already has the cheapest 2brs in the area. We could potentially try to move much further out from the city to another town where rent is cheaper, but I don’t know if that will even help because there will be more fees (our apartment complex is very good about not nickel and diming), utilities won’t be included like they are at our current complex, and we’ll have to pay a bunch of deposits and moving costs instead of just transferring within a building, and we’ve had to spend a lot of savings on unexpected expenses and getting ready for the baby. Money is already stretched so thin. We can’t get any gov’t assistance because we’re just barely out of range for local programs and wildly out of range for state programs, since the rest of the state is much cheaper. I don’t know what to do. We’ve been trying to move out of this expensive city for over a year, but most of the jobs in my husband’s field are here.
 
AClaire11 said:
We went down today to ask our leasing office about their occupancy policies, since we’re having a baby in March. We thought we would probably have to move to a 1br, but were told that we actually have to move to a 2br apartment because only two people can live in a 1br. This means a $350 increase that will completely eat up my husband’s expected promotion, and possibly then some, depending on taxes and all that. We’re in the cheapest apartment complex that isn’t completely infested with roaches or wildly unsafe and still pay almost 50% of our take-home pay in rent. We called around and no one will rent a 1br to us when our lease is up this fall because they all have the same policy. Our apartment building already has the cheapest 2brs in the area. We could potentially try to move much further out from the city to another town where rent is cheaper, but I don’t know if that will even help because there will be more fees (our apartment complex is very good about not nickel and diming), utilities won’t be included like they are at our current complex, and we’ll have to pay a bunch of deposits and moving costs instead of just transferring within a building, and we’ve had to spend a lot of savings on unexpected expenses and getting ready for the baby. Money is already stretched so thin. We can’t get any gov’t assistance because we’re just barely out of range for local programs and wildly out of range for state programs, since the rest of the state is much cheaper. I don’t know what to do. We’ve been trying to move out of this expensive city for over a year, but most of the jobs in my husband’s field are here.
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A few thoughts:
  1. Would you be grandfathered in if you moved into a 1-bedroom apartment and then (SURPRISE!) had a baby a month or two later? Technically, there are only two of you until the new baby is born. You may have been a leetle bit too quick to show your cards.
I don’t know if it’s at all feasible, but it does come to mind.
  1. Check out DC Urban Mom for specific local advice.
  2. There may be slightly different rules as you move between VA communities–so I would not assume (without researching it first) that every single community in NOVA has exactly the same occupancy rules. I’ve seen 2 per bedroom plus one cited in other discussions.
  3. Perhaps a non-complex situation would be more flexible?
 
Is your landlord setting their own occupancy policy or is it law? I wonder if they can actually do that, especially when it’s a baby. Look up the Fair Housing Act.

Not that you can do anything about it now, but I probably would have just said nothing about the baby.

If the job situation is that bad, I think your husband needs to switch fields. If the jobs are where you are, but they can’t cover cost of living, that’s a huge problem.
 
Xantippe said:
A few thoughts:
  1. Would you be grandfathered in if you moved into a 1-bedroom apartment and then (SURPRISE!) had a baby a month or two later? Technically, there are only two of you until the new baby is born. You may have been a leetle bit too quick to show your cards.
I don’t know if it’s at all feasible, but it does come to mind.
  1. Check out DC Urban Mom for specific local advice.
  2. There may be slightly different rules as you move between VA communities–so I would not assume (without researching it first) that every single community in NOVA has exactly the same occupancy rules. I’ve seen 2 per bedroom plus one cited in other discussions.
  3. Perhaps a non-complex situation would be more flexible?
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Yes especially to the last point. I don’t have tons of experience in apartment living, but I vastly preferred our landlord who was just a guy with some houses to the complex run by a management company.
 
Xantippe said:
A few thoughts:
  1. Would you be grandfathered in if you moved into a 1-bedroom apartment and then (SURPRISE!) had a baby a month or two later? Technically, there are only two of you until the new baby is born. You may have been a leetle bit too quick to show your cards.
I don’t know if it’s at all feasible, but it does come to mind.
  1. Check out DC Urban Mom for specific local advice.
  2. There may be slightly different rules as you move between VA communities–so I would not assume (without researching it first) that every single community in NOVA has exactly the same occupancy rules. I’ve seen 2 per bedroom plus one cited in other discussions.
  3. Perhaps a non-complex situation would be more flexible?
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  1. Our lease isn’t up until the fall. We’re grandfathered into this lease, but not the next one, when LO will be ~7 months old. It would be different if our lease was up in February.
  2. Okay, thanks for the tip!
  3. I’ll look around some more, but so far everywhere we’ve called has said the same thing. But it can’t hurt to look and see, though all the hassle of moving to a 1br at market rate might end up not saving us much money.
  4. That’s a good idea. I’m planning to look at privately rented places to see if they’re cheaper, but when I’ve looked before, I noticed they didn’t tend to be pet friendly and we have two cats.
 
pensmama87 said:
Is your landlord setting their own occupancy policy or is it law? I wonder if they can actually do that, especially when it’s a baby. Look up the Fair Housing Act.
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Yes. Look up what the actual law is.
 
pensmama87 said:
Is your landlord setting their own occupancy policy or is it law? I wonder if they can actually do that, especially when it’s a baby. Look up the Fair Housing Act.

Not that you can do anything about it now, but I probably would have just said nothing about the baby.

If the job situation is that bad, I think your husband needs to switch fields. If the jobs are where you are, but they can’t cover cost of living, that’s a huge problem.
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The FHA says it is reasonable to set an occupancy limit of two people per bedroom, so they’re allowed to do this. I checked.

The lease agreement specifically says who is allowed to live there and explicitly states no additional person or persons whatsoever. I don’t feel comfortable being dishonest, especially when it could result in eviction.

He’s in grad school part time to get his MPA (thank God for grants), so that should help him be more flexible and more attractive to employers once he’s finished. He’s going to ask the career counseling place at his uni for advice on other fields he could check out.
 
I find it hard to believe that the occupancy rule like that is a state law. If it’s a local or county law, perhaps you can find a place in a neighboring county that is still close enough for your husband to commute? I also second looking into a mom and pop situation rather than a complex that’s run by a management company.
 
AClaire11 said:
The FHA says it is reasonable to set an occupancy limit of two people per bedroom, so they’re allowed to do this. I checked.

The lease agreement specifically says who is allowed to live there and explicitly states no additional person or persons whatsoever. I don’t feel comfortable being dishonest, especially when it could result in eviction.

He’s in grad school part time to get his MPA (thank God for grants), so that should help him be more flexible and more attractive to employers once he’s finished. He’s going to ask the career counseling place at his uni for advice on other fields he could check out.
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I’m glad you’re set to leave the area!

I do not necessarily endorse this, but years ago, we had some friends who lived in Arlington in a one-bedroom condo that they owned. By the time the condo association got wise to them and they left, they had three children and had had a live-in (!) nanny living with them at some point.

It’s a bit of a conundrum–you want to be honest, but on the other hand, you guys have to live SOMEWHERE and you can’t stay where you are. You don’t want to honest your way right onto the street. But you have until the fall to figure this out.

Another thing that comes to mind is military families–there may be some military families in your area that need to find renters on short notice. I would look into that as one of your options.

Also, come to think of it, if your husband is on good terms with his professors, I suggest putting out feelers. Professors frequently go on sabbaticals/visiting professorships/etc., and they often need responsible housesitters/renters to keep their homes occupied/critters fed/lawn mowed. It’s especially fortunate that your lease comes up in the fall, as that probably coincides with the school term.

Moving isn’t nice, but you can’t have a lot of stuff, so I would try not to stress out too much about moving at this stage in your life. Also, you’ll hopefully be much more physically and mentally capable of dealing with it once your baby is 6-7 months old. We did our last move when our youngest baby was exactly that age. I won’t say it was exactly a breeze, but it was not our worst move ever.
 
AClaire11 said:
The FHA says it is reasonable to set an occupancy limit of two people per bedroom, so they’re allowed to do this. I checked.

The lease agreement specifically says who is allowed to live there and explicitly states no additional person or persons whatsoever. I don’t feel comfortable being dishonest, especially when it could result in eviction.

He’s in grad school part time to get his MPA (thank God for grants), so that should help him be more flexible and more attractive to employers once he’s finished. He’s going to ask the career counseling place at his uni for advice on other fields he could check out.
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In my opinion that is referring to adults. Children are usually not factored into tat interpretation. Since commonly parents co sleep anyway…
 
You might qualify for aid once the baby is born, since you’ll be going from a two-person family to three.

I think it’s definitely worth looking into privately-rented places. We tend to avoid them because we like maintenance to be readily available, but if you can find a good landlord, I’ve come across a lot who don’t seem to mind cats (we’ve moved a lot).

Personally, I would figure out whatever is going to cost less and do that. We ended up having to move too, and then I lost my job while on maternity leave, and we’ve had tons of unanticipated baby-related expenses, even though we saved and planned. It happens. Do a lot of research, see if you can find someplace further away that is cheaper with utilities included, account for increased transportation expenses, do the math, and see if it’s worth it.

How much longer until your husband graduates? Is his promotion just hoped for or expected? Do you plan on working or staying home with the baby? Could he get a second job when he is done? $350 a month increase is a lot, on top of health insurance increases, diapers, etc. One thing I’d consider is your laundry situation. If you have it included somehow now, I’d strongly consider keeping it. Out hot water and electricity use has increased a ton over the past year.
 
Lorelei12 said:
You might qualify for aid once the baby is born, since you’ll be going from a two-person family to three.

I think it’s definitely worth looking into privately-rented places. We tend to avoid them because we like maintenance to be readily available, but if you can find a good landlord, I’ve come across a lot who don’t seem to mind cats (we’ve moved a lot).

Personally, I would figure out whatever is going to cost less and do that. We ended up having to move too, and then I lost my job while on maternity leave, and we’ve had tons of unanticipated baby-related expenses, even though we saved and planned. It happens. Do a lot of research, see if you can find someplace further away that is cheaper with utilities included, account for increased transportation expenses, do the math, and see if it’s worth it.

How much longer until your husband graduates? Is his promotion just hoped for or expected? Do you plan on working or staying home with the baby? Could he get a second job when he is done? $350 a month increase is a lot, on top of health insurance increases, diapers, etc. One thing I’d consider is your laundry situation. If you have it included somehow now, I’d strongly consider keeping it. Out hot water and electricity use has increased a ton over the past year.
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I was also thinking that their aid eligibility might change a lot with the new baby.

The answer to this problem is research and information–find out as much as you can with online research. Knowing the area, I would suggest planning your in-person apartment scouting for April. With a little practice, you’ll be able to manage practically unlimited outings with the baby.
 
Also, talk to Catholic Charities in your area if you have time–they may have somebody who specializes in housing issues.

It may be that, as Hoosier Daddy suspects, tiny children aren’t supposed to be counted.
 
1ke said:
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19437-2004Aug20.html?nav=rss_realestate/rent

dpor.virginia.gov/Suggestions_for_Housing_Providers/

If you are in NOVA, you might just have to move farther out. Consider a move to MD, WV, or DE.
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Come to think of it, when we were apartment hunting in the DC metro area, a lot of units seem to come with a “den.”

So some one-bedrooms might actually have the functionality of a 2-bedroom, and the landlord might be willing to budge on that.
 
I would just assume that the occupancy rates refer to adults and not bring the issue up again. Even if they policy refers to children it will take a while before they notice the little one.
 
Xantippe said:
Come to think of it, when we were apartment hunting in the DC metro area, a lot of units seem to come with a “den.”

So some one-bedrooms might actually have the functionality of a 2-bedroom, and the landlord might be willing to budge on that.
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It’s just about always easier to ask forgiveness than permission. At least if you don’t ask you can honestly say, “I didn’t know I couldn’t do that.” If you ask and the answer is no then it’s obvious you knew what was permitted and you’ll be in more trouble.
 
A lot of places seem to go by the rule of 2 people per bedroom, plus one. So a mom/dad/baby could feasibly be in a 1-bedroom, although it would be tight.

However, what’s keeping you tied to that particular apartment complex? If the management isn’t wanting to work with you, find a place that’s in your budget that’s more flexible. Have you tried checking out the mom-and-pop sfh’s in your area?
 
I work for a management company. Our policy allows for newborns up to 24 months to live with their parents (or 2 adults) in a one bedroom. We don’t have any properties in the DC area, but i find it hard to believe they will take such a hard line with you.
I’m not an attorney, and I know others have brought up the Fair Housing Act, but it might be worth filing a claim under FHA and cite discrimination on the basis of familial status. Even if they are right, they may buckle under and enter into a Conciliation with you. There is considerable time, expense, and exposure to fighting a Fair Housing claim, and management companies often do not want to take the risk, and will opt for an early settlement. Don’t take the property manager’s final answer–ultimately the decision will not rest with her/him.
 
txstm said:
I work for a management company. Our policy allows for newborns up to 24 months to live with their parents (or 2 adults) in a one bedroom. We don’t have any properties in the DC area, but i find it hard to believe they will take such a hard line with you.
I’m not an attorney, and I know others have brought up the Fair Housing Act, but it might be worth filing a claim under FHA and cite discrimination on the basis of familial status. Even if they are right, they may buckle under and enter into a Conciliation with you. There is considerable time, expense, and exposure to fighting a Fair Housing claim, and management companies often do not want to take the risk, and will opt for an early settlement. Don’t take the property manager’s final answer–ultimately the decision will not rest with her/him.
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Right.
 
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