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Adding a non-lease roommate

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JuliaJolie

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Massachusetts

This is somewhat of a mess, so I should quickly summarise (and apologise for the length).

My boyfriend and I signed a one-year lease last October. We got permission to have an extra roommate who wasn't on the lease as I had to go home to the UK for family issues. The landlord permitted this, then allowed him to stay on, but it became problematic as the roommate is leaving with almost no notice, and left us with his share of unpaid bills (almost $700). We already found a responsible, quiet, older female roommate who has a full-time job, educated etc to replace him, but the landlord is saying he wouldn't have any control and feels powerless, and is against it. Is this legal?

I'm from the UK and have got engaged to my long-term boyfriend of 3 years, and we were planning to get married. I assured the landlord everything would be fine, and could he just give this new female roommate a chance. The landlord's wife pointed out that "you're getting married? There's no kids allowed on the lease". Again, is this legal?

I read somewhere that I'm allowed to have non-lease roommates without even getting the landlord's permission. The rent would still be my responsibility as the leasee. It's not like we're subletting- it's just a roommate. Where exactly is the line?

It seems like he's just shooting himself in the foot and forcing eviction, as he fails to see this from a logical point of view and is more concerned about having no power when it comes to evicting this new roommate if SHE becomes problematic. Can he disallow this, even if it means we won't be able to make rent, and can he force us not to have kids??
 


Andy0192

Member
Your landlord does not have to allow anyone to live there that did not sign the original Lease, unless the lease specifically gives the tentant the option to sublease at their own discretion (which would be a very rare clause).

It seems to me that your Landlord is very logical, and wants to have a business-like arrangement where they maintain control of their property.

You seem to be confused about the issue, because you think that as a tenant, you can have control of the apartment & decide who gets to live there.
 

HuAi

Member
"you're getting married? There's no kids allowed on the lease". Again, is this legal?
HUD rules prohibit discrimination based on you having kids. The building is excluded from HUD regulations only if this is an owner occupied dwelling with 4 units or less or if it's a single family home not rented through a broker. Even if the above is the case, no judge in his right mind will evict you for having a child.

Edit: but there may be a limitation by local zoning laws of how many people are allowed to live in a house with certain # of rooms, and you + hubby + baby + roommate may run afoul of that, in which case a city housing inspector may force you out. Call your local housing authority and ask about the regulations.
 

JuliaJolie

Junior Member
HUD rules prohibit discrimination based on you having kids. The building is excluded from HUD regulations only if this is an owner occupied dwelling with 4 units or less or if it's a single family home not rented through a broker. Even if the above is the case, no judge in his right mind will evict you for having a child.

Edit: but there may be a limitation by local zoning laws of how many people are allowed to live in a house with certain # of rooms, and you + hubby + baby + roommate may run afoul of that, in which case a city housing inspector may force you out. Call your local housing authority and ask about the regulations.
Thank you. I personally never plan on having kids, but that's not the issue. The apartment is huge - to give you a rough idea, it has two large living room spaces, a large open kitchen with an island and a separate pantry room with washer/dryer etc. This guy is not a slumlord :/ There are two (again large) bedrooms in the apartment.

However, I did some research and I found 19 separate electrical code, sanitation code and plumbing code violations in the apartment, so I suppose when I talk to his lawyer I should make him aware of this by just reciting each section of each chapter etc. I'm expecting a call from him soon, as I really don't think my landlord has any clue of what they're talking about.

EDIT: My landlord has allowed it; I have yet to tell him about the violations.
 
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