Occupants and Visitors

OCCUPANTS AND VISITORS:

  "Fair Housing"(anti-discrimination) laws prohibit discrimination against families with children. For example, it's illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to a family just because they have children. Often, such discrimination takes the form of occupancy policies. A landlord can't have occupancy limits that discriminate against families with children. Texas law generally limits occupancy to three adults(persons over 18 years) for each bedroom of the dwelling, unless the landlord is required by fair housing laws to allow a higher occupancy policy rate. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has determined that., as a general rule, a landlord's occupancy policy of two persons per bedroom is reasonable , but whether or not such an occupancy policy violates fair housing laws will depend on many factors. For more examples, look up Tenant's Rights Handbook on www.texasbar.com .

    A landlord generally  can't  limit visitors as long as they don't disturb other residents or violate some other provision of the lease. You should use common sense concerning your visitors. For example, even if you are following your lease, you might want to avoid having the same visitor spend the night too many times in row without the landlord's permission to avoid any accusations of having an unauthorized occupant. Similarly, a visitor who receives mail or other deliveries at  your premises might arouse suspicion of an unauthorized occupant. Although the landlord has the burden to prove a tenant has violated the lease in an eviction case, you may be wise to avoid these disputes from arising in the first place. It's often better to work things out with your landlord before the dispute ends up in court.