Is the landlord permitted to say how many people can live in an apartment?
There is no prohibition against limiting the number of adults provided the purpose is not to discriminate on a protected basis. State and federal law prohibit landlords from discriminating against families with children and landlords cannot limit the number of people in order to discriminate against a family with children. On the other end, the Housing Code limits the number of people per square foot. Apart from those limitations, the landlord can generally establish the number of people he or she wants to rent to. The Rent Ordinance provides that the rent ceiling is based on the base occupancy level. If the tenancy began before January 1, 1999, the base occupancy is equal to the number of tenants who lived in the unit in May, 1980 (the “base year occupancy level”). Of course the landlord may allow additional tenants in the unit. In such a case, the landlord can petition the Rent Board for a 10% rent increase for each additional tenant. An increase is not allowed, however, for a spouse
