hi folks!
I'm in RI. Currently looking for tenants for 1/2 of a duplex. Duplex is about 900 square feet, 2 bedrooms. Lately I seem to have a plethora of families with 4 plus children wanting to rent it. When I remind them it's only two bedrooms (one of them small) the parents usually say, "that's ok, my spouse and I don't mind sleeping in the living room." I am not comfortable with tenants turning the living room into a regular bedroom for several reasons.
1 - liability issues I may not be aware of
2 - I'm not the type of landlord to pack large numbers of people into a small space, just to collect rent.
3 - if the law is such that I have to allow people use the living room as a sleeping area if they want, I'm going to rent it out as a 3 bedroom and raise the rent
So, does anyone know the legalities involved in this? Can I tell prospective tenants that the living room can't be used as a 3rd bedroom, and therefore there would be too many people in the unit?
THANKS!
SB


