Legalities of multiple renters

[XBoxBoy]

Wondering if anyone has any knowledge of what is legal and what isn’t. One of our neighbors has decided to rent out rooms in their house. They now have four renters living there as well as the owner. This is in a residential single family house. Does this violate any San Diego laws? Zoning codes? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[spdrun]

I’d consider carefully before getting mixed up in this …

If they’re not hurting anyone,it’s frankly none of your damned business. Maybe they happened on hard times and need the money more than the extra floor space. You’d have to be a real asshat to consider siccing the city on them.

[urbanrealtor]

Agree with spdrun.

Its generally legal to rent out some (or even all) rooms in a house.

Even the mini-dorm restrictions (put in place in 2006-2007) are of dubious quality and probably would not stand up to a challenge.

[flyer]

X-Box. I know there are various takes on this issue, but I do understand your concerns. We have friends who are facing the same issue in a single family residential neighborhood.

Although the decision has already been made to rent to multiple individuals this time around, you might want to talk to the owner and share your concerns, and ask if he/she might consider other options in the future.

If you have an HOA (which our friends do) they might be able to help you, or guide you through your options.

Ultimately, you may have to contact the city/county regarding zoning laws concerning your rights or lack therof, which, in turn, might lead to legal action.

Please know this information is only offered as opinion, and should not be construed as advice.

[spdrun]

If I were the owner, my response would be “no, kindly stay out of my business. If you have specific concerns about the behavior of one of my housemates, I’d be happy to address them.”

Why not focus on the behavior of the people living there, rather than the fact that the people happen to be unrelated by blood? Should someone not have the right to rent out rooms to ease economic hardship, assuming no overcrowding exists? What if I bought a house and decided to share it with some close friends who were all decent people?

Do I really need to get crap and possible litigation from nosy neighbors just because of an innocent lifestyle choice?

As long as they’re keeping things clean, relatively quiet, and following the precedent of occupancy being less than or equal to one plus 2x the number of bedrooms, it should be a private matter.

[no_such_reality]

The owner still lives there you should be happy. Renters of live in land lords are usually low key

Conversely perhaps they could sell the place to a nice professional 50ish empty nesters couple that just happens to be avid swingers hosting semi weekly lifestyle parties in all those empty rooms

Or turn it into an airbnb.

Take your pick.

[UCGal]

I would make sure there’s a problem before making a big deal about it. I live in a single family neighborhood but rent out a granny flat. We worked with the neighbors when they complained our tenant was parking in front of their house. It was resolved with no issue as soon as it was brought to our attention.

In other words – my advise is don’t make waves if there really is no problem.

That said – if they are renting out 4 or more rooms, they may fall under rooming house rules.
http://www.sdcaa.com/Mini-dormsFACTSHEET.pdf

Rooming House Ordinance
The second ordinance, the Rooming House Ordinance, was adopted by the City Council on April 15,
2008. The Rooming House Ordinance mandates that landlords cannot rent out three or more individual
rooms of a home under separate leases. Additionally, rooming houses are only allowed as a permitted
use in certain residential zones or commercial zones. It also only allows continued use of the property as
a rooming house for three years (April 2011). Finally, with the exception of certain specified situations,
the ordinance requires one parking space per tenant for all rentals that meet the criteria of a rooming
house.

What to do: Because this ordinance only applies to rentals with three or more separate leases, landlords
may still rent to three or more individuals under one master lease. If one tenant moves out, the new
tenant may be added to the master lease. For more information about this, call SDCAA Membership
Services and Screening Compliance Director Nancy Robertson at (858) 278-8070. You may also read
more about the Ordinance at http://www.sandiego.gov/development-services/industry/landdevcode/minidorm.shtml

[NotCranky]

I’m all in with spdrun on this one. Too many nimby’s. The renters can afford to be in a nice place like this and it could be a really cool time in their lives. Might help the owner not worry about money…maybe help them all get ahead somehow. I have been both the renter and the owner in these scenarios …..good stuff.

[CA renter]

[quote=UCGal]I would make sure there’s a problem before making a big deal about it. I live in a single family neighborhood but rent out a granny flat. We worked with the neighbors when they complained our tenant was parking in front of their house. It was resolved with no issue as soon as it was brought to our attention.

In other words – my advise is don’t make waves if there really is no problem.

[/quote]

Totally agree with spdrun and others on this issue. Like UCGal, I used to rent rooms to tenants and two of them started parking in front of our neighbor’s house across the street. The neighbor (a friend of mine, too) came over and asked if they could stop parking in front of her house, I passed along the message, and it was all taken care of. The tenants initially balked, saying that they were legally allowed to park anywhere on the public street (true), but I asked them to be thoughtful of the neighbors and told them that if they didn’t want to be considerate, they would have to move out — while I think neighbors need to mind their own business, it’s important to be considerate of others, too, especially if it impacts their day-to-day life. Ended up not being a problem from then on.

[XBoxBoy]

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to get back yesterday. I should mention that I have no intent of doing anything about this, nor am I upset about the situation. I asked because several of my other neighbors on the other hand are starting to object, and I was curious as to what legal if any grounds they would have. I can see how you might jump to the conclusion that I was planning a legal battle here, but that isn’t the case at all.

This is really a case of me just asking if anyone knew anything about the law of this situation. (ie anyone know anything about those mini-dorm restrictions?) We do have CC&R’s in the neighborhood, which do prohibit renting out rooms, but I’m pretty sure they are unenforcable if push comes to shove. (No HOA, just CC&R’s)

So, if anyone has knowledge about how this plays out if some of my other neighbors decide to wage war over this I’m curious as to what you might know. But don’t worry about me. I will stay well clear of the fighting. (There’s been plenty of fighting in our neighborhood about other issues so it’s nothing new)

Thanks again,
XBoxBoy

[joec]

[quote=XBoxBoy]Hi All,

Thanks for the comments. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to get back yesterday. I should mention that I have no intent of doing anything about this, nor am I upset about the situation. I asked because several of my other neighbors on the other hand are starting to object, and I was curious as to what legal if any grounds they would have. I can see how you might jump to the conclusion that I was planning a legal battle here, but that isn’t the case at all.

This is really a case of me just asking if anyone knew anything about the law of this situation. (ie anyone know anything about those mini-dorm restrictions?) We do have CC&R’s in the neighborhood, which do prohibit renting out rooms, but I’m pretty sure they are unenforcable if push comes to shove. (No HOA, just CC&R’s)

So, if anyone has knowledge about how this plays out if some of my other neighbors decide to wage war over this I’m curious as to what you might know. But don’t worry about me. I will stay well clear of the fighting. (There’s been plenty of fighting in our neighborhood about other issues so it’s nothing new)

Thanks again,
XBoxBoy[/quote]

Seems that if there are already CC&R’s, maybe see what the recourse is and follow those rules.

Most likely, some of the neighbors are being affected and that’s why they are upset. Normally, people can care less unless it affects them. If there are 3 more cars parking right in front of my house, I’d be annoyed too.

I just hate when people park in front of my house for some reason…not sure why…

After 3 days, I think they can also call the cops and state the car is abandoned and get it ticketed/towed…

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=joec]
Seems that if there are already CC&R’s, maybe see what the recourse is and follow those rules.
[/quote]

We’ve had other fights in the neighborhood about CC&R’s being violated, and from that experience I’ve kinda come to believe that CC&R’s are hard to enforce short of getting an attorney and suing. And then you’re likely to just get thrown out of court. I suppose it matters how your CC&R’s are worded.

[quote=joec]
Most likely, some of the neighbors are being affected and that’s why they are upset. Normally, people can care less unless it affects them. If there are 3 more cars parking right in front of my house, I’d be annoyed too.
[/quote]

Well, without getting into specifics, let’s just say this neighbor has managed to repeatedly piss off most the other neighbors for a whole variety of things. This is just the next chapter in an ongoing feud.

[quote=joec]
I just hate when people park in front of my house for some reason…not sure why…

After 3 days, I think they can also call the cops and state the car is abandoned and get it ticketed/towed…[/quote]

Yup, that’s happened already. It takes more than three days, but yup, some of the neighbors have done this already.

[spdrun]

So wait — people in SD get all upset about others using the street to LEGALLY park? It’s a public street. No one owns the parking spots there. The worst that may happen is that you will have to walk an extra few hundred feet. Oy, quelle horreur!

Sheesh, life is too short to get aggravated about a parking spot that doesn’t even belong to you. You might as well shake your fist at people driving down the street in front of your house.

[XBoxBoy]

[quote=spdrun] You might as well shake your fist at people driving down the street in front of your house.[/quote]

I believe that happens on a regular basis on our street.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]So wait — people in SD get all upset about others using the street to LEGALLY park? It’s a public street. No one owns the parking spots there. The worst that may happen is that you will have to walk an extra few [/quote]

It’s a territorial thing. Not that bad in San Diego. Buy in some older established towns, people might beat you up or somehow drive you out of the neighborhood. How about some old hoods in jersey where you need to hunt for street parking because they is no driveway?

Although most people park on their driveways, they just like the front of the house clear.

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